Burnet rose

Photo: Velela — CC BY-SA 2.5 · source

Survives zone 3 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

Distinctive among roses for its round, deep purple-black hips rather than the usual red or orange. A tough coastal and heathland species — genuinely drought- and salt-tolerant — also known as Rosa pimpinellifolia and, in Scotland, Scotch or Scottish rose. ⚠ Deseed the hips before eating: the ring of stiff hairs around the seeds is a gut and skin irritant, and is what old-fashioned itching powder was made from. Strain it out of any purée or syrup.

Hardiness

Zone 3–9

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Sept–Oct

Mature size

Low, spreading and mounding, 0.9–1.2 m (3–4 ft) tall and wide

Light

Full sun

Soil pH

6.0–8.0 (neutral to alkaline) — copes well with chalk and limestone

Environment

Temperate

Native range

Iceland to Turkey, across the UK and continental Europe — coastal dunes, heathland and sandy or chalky ground.

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

2–3 yrs

Growth speed

Rapid

Spacing

120 cm (47 in) apart — about 1.4 m² (16 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Compound, 9–11 elliptic to ovate leaflets, finely toothed

Root system

Aggressively suckering and shallow-spreading — this species colonises sand dunes and will run well beyond where it was planted. Excellent for stabilising a bank, a poor choice for a mixed border unless you are prepared to chase it.

Fruit description

Round, blue-black to purple-black, under 2.5 cm across

Propagation

Hardwood cuttings in autumn root readily, and rooted suckers can simply be severed and moved. Seed is slower: hips need cleaning and a long cold stratification, often over two winters, and seedlings vary.

Pollination

Hermaphrodite and bee-pollinated, self-compatible — a single bush will set hips. Cross-pollination between two plants still gives heavier set and better seed fill, so a pair does better than a lone specimen.

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.