Wood's rose

Photo: dougwaylett — CC BY 2.0 · source

Survives zone 3 through 8

Harvest calendar

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

One of the most widely distributed roses in North America, reaching from Alaska to northern Mexico. Forms dense, thorny thickets by suckering — good wildlife cover and erosion control, less good in a small garden. ⚠ 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 3–8

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Late summer–early fall

Mature size

0.3–2.4 m (1–8 ft), typically 0.9–1.8 m, spreading 0.9–3 m into colonies

Light

Full sun to part shade

Soil pH

5.5–7.5 (mildly acid to mildly alkaline)

Environment

Temperate

Native range

Western and central North America — Alaska and most of Canada south through the western and central US, irregularly to Texas, California and northern Mexico.

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

2–3 yrs

Growth speed

Moderate to fast

Spacing

150 cm (59 in) apart — about 2.3 m² (24 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Compound, 5–9 oval leaflets, 2–5 cm, sharply toothed; yellow to orange in fall

Root system

Deep and strongly suckering, throwing new shoots from spreading lateral roots — which is how wild roses build thickets, and worth knowing before siting one in a small bed. The suckers are also the easiest way to get another plant.

Fruit description

Bright red to orange-red, pear-shaped to round hips, 1.3–2 cm, persisting into winter

Propagation

Root sucker division, seed (needs several months cold stratification), or hardwood cuttings.

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.