Rose Hips can be a treat for wildlife as well as for people.
Are you a Rose lover as well as a wildlife lover? Do you love the smell and beautiful colors of Roses but don’t want to go through all of the trouble of deadheading your Rose bushes all the time? Some species of Roses, particularly the Rugusa Rose and other shrub type roses will give your garden an extra display of beauty without any additional work on your part. “Rose Hips” are the fruits of the rose that show up after the flower has been pollinated and if the flower has not been cut off the stem. Rose Hips are loved by fruit eating birds, deer, rabbits, squirrels and other winter foragers of the wildlife garden. They are also contain a high amount of Vitamin C and have been used in jams, jellies, syrups and herbal preparations throughout the world.
This Morden Centennial Rose provides lots of flowers and Rose Hips for a year long display.
Native or Wild Roses grow throughout much of the United States. The Rosa arkansana (Prairie Rose) is the native that I find in our yard and the mountains. Wild Roses can be aggressive, but are well loved by wildlife who many times will keep them in check by browsing the leaves, stems, flowers and hips. Also, these Native Roses should not be confused with the highly invasive multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), which has spread itself throughout the country. The shrub roses that I grow in my perennial gardens are Morden Centennials, a Canadian shrub rose. They are hardy to Zone 3, and even at my high elevation keep their green leaves and stems up until December! The hips stay on the stems through snow, hail and ice till the deer come up to eat them.
This beautiful flower gives way to a beautiful fruit.
Don't these Rose Hips look tasty to you?
This fall or winter when you’re planning your garden changes for next summer, take a moment to ponder the addition of some Roses that provide beautiful sight and scent as well as beautiful food for your wildlife friends!
Kathy Green loves plants that provide multiple uses and is happy to assist others in planning the perfect wildlife garden.
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Excellent point, Kathy! I love the color and variation that rose hips bring to the wildlife garden (and any garden for that matter). It also goes to show that even if you don’t have a “formal” wildlife garden that any plant in your yard can perform double duty as eye-candy for people and provision for wildlife.
Chris McLaughlin recently posted..The Chiweenie Draws a Winner
Chris, it’s so true that every little thing you can do in the garden to help wildlife is well worth it, even if you don’t care for the “wild” look.
Kathy Green recently posted..Ode to Summer
It’s important to stop pruning flowers (in my area in SE MI) in late August so the rose can form the hips to signal to the plant to prepare for winter. Cute *and* practical.
Monica the Garden Faerie recently posted..Revelation on megabus and the 9 plants of desire
Monica,
Very good point about the rose using the hips as a signal to start going dormant. I hadn’t considered that before but it makes perfect sense to me.
Kathy Green recently posted..Ode to Summer
I’ve got the native Pasture Rose (Rosa carolina) in my garden and the birds just love to eat those hips. It really is lovely!
Carole recently posted..Migrant Warblers in the Wildlife Garden
Carole, I’m not familiar with Pasture Rose, I’ll definitely have to see how it differs from the Native Rose here.
Kathy Green recently posted..Ode to Summer
For those of you that might want to know more about the Parkland Series of Roses which includes the “Morden Centennial Rose”:
The series from Canada includes also Blush, Fireglow, Ruby and others. Here is a link that really explains them nicely: http://www.midwestgardentips.com/parkland_roses.html.
You can order them online as bare root roses from Jung Seeds in Wisconsin, or from various nurseries in the US. I live in Colorado and several nurseries here carry them in the spring, although not all of the varieties. Also, since they are all “own root” roses if they do experience winter die back the roses will come back true to form, not off of unknown root stock.
Kathy Green recently posted..Ode to Summer
Kathy, rose hips are beautiful, but I would be nervous about encouraging the use of Rosa rugosa in a garden. Although not as invasive as the Rosa multiflora, rugosa is a non native which has a status of ‘potentially invasive’ in Connecticut, meaning it may be on the watch list in other states as well. Birds that eat the berries of invasive plants distribute the seeds into natural areas.
Hi Julia! Thanks for the point on Rosa rugusa and its ‘potential’ to be invasive. Here in Colorado Rosa rugosa is not a problem but I understand that it may be on the East and West Coast. The Rosa rugosa has many redeeming qualities in the garden and needs far less fertilizer, pesticides or other artificial chemicals then many other forms of Roses which is beneficial to wildlife as well as us! As with any non-native plant, it’s best to check with your state extension or other local source of information to determine what’s on the watch lists for your area and choose something appropriate.
Kathy Green recently posted..Ode to Summer
I think rosehips are beautiful additions to the garden. Rosa rugosa is a lovely rose and I’ve appreciated it on my visits to RI, but, see how aggressive it can be. I’ve planted Rosa carolina, instead. It’s been a rough summer for it to get established~It prefers a moister soil then our drought this summer allowed! But, there’s always next year, right! gail
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I have some kind of pink shrub rose in my backyard (planted by previous owner) that gets gorgeous hips on it but nothing ever touches them. Every year I quit deadheading after July 1st hoping something will like them but nothing ever does so I end up pruning them off come spring.
Kathleen recently posted..Cajun Hibiscus Persimmon
I’m not fond of feeding the deer, but I’m willing to let them have the rose hips, if they agree to leave the yew alone.
Mr. McGregor’s Daughter recently posted..October Crept In
I have the native Virginia Rose (R. virginiana) in my garden, I love it, it spreads into a nice thicket and the fragrance in June is heavenly..
Interestingly, nobody seems to touch the hips til late winter when they finally disappear….never seen who is munching on them though!
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