Prairie rose, Climbing Wild Rose
Rosa setigera

Family: Rosaceae

What it is like

Rosa setigera is a deciduous Shrub growing to 2.5 m (8ft) by 2.5 m (8ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5. The flowers are pollinated by Birds, Insects. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.

Height (m): 2.5

Where it is found

Moist to mesic prairies, savannas, thickets, woodland borders and clearings, acid gravel seeps, fence rows, abandoned pastures, and waste areas.

Native Range: Eastern and central North America

Conservation Status: Not Listed.

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 3

Small edible rosehips are round, red and ripen in fall. Tart edible fruit is a berry-like hip.

Medicine

Rating: 2

Rose hips contain high levels of vitamin C. Useful for supporting the immune system.

Vitamin C: Plants good for their vitamin C content

Other

Rating: 3

Shrub borders, rose gardens, naturalized areas or native plant gardens. Use as climber or naturalize into thickets or hedgerows. Informal hedge or barrier. Useful in a location where it can ramble or climb.The most common visitors to the flowers are various bees and Syrphid flies. Bees collect pollen, and typical visitors include honeybees, bumblebees, Anthophorine bees, Miner bees, large Leaf-Cutting bees, and Halictine bees. Syrphid flies feed on pollen, and are not effective pollinators. Various beetles and moth caterpillars feed on the foliage and flowers. The rose hips are eaten by various small mammals and birds, including the Greater Prairie Chicken, while the stems and foliage are browsed by the Cottontail Rabbit and White-Tailed Deer (particularly the latter).

How it is grown

Prefers average, medium to wet, well-drained, fertile soil in full sun to part shade. It dislikes wet conditions with standing water or droughty conditions. Flower: Showy, Fragrant, Good Cut. Bloom Time: June. Bloom Description: Pink fading to whitish. Leaf: Good Fall color. Fruit: Showy. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. A clumping plant, forming a colony from shoots away from the crown but with a limited spread. The root pattern is suckering with new plants from underground runners away from the plant. The root pattern is flat with shallow roots forming a plate near the soil surface.

Propagating it: Seed. Rose seed often takes two years to germinate. This is because it may need a warm spell of weather after a cold spell in order to mature the embryo and reduce the seedcoat. One possible way to reduce this time is to scarify the seed and then place it for 2 - 3 weeks in damp peat at a temperature of 27 - 32°c (by which time the seed should have imbibed). It is then kept at 3°c for the next 4 months by which time it should be starting to germinate. Alternatively, it is possible that seed harvested 'green' (when it is fully developed but before it has dried on the plant) and sown immediately will germinate in the late winter. This method has not as yet(1988) been fully tested. Seed sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame sometimes germinates in spring though it may take 18 months. Stored seed can be sown as early in the year as possible and stratified for 6 weeks at 5°c. It may take 2 years to germinate. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Plant out in the summer if the plants are more than 25cm tall, otherwise grow on in a cold frame for the winter and plant out in late spring. Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel, July in a shaded frame. Overwinter the plants in the frame and plant out in late spring. High percentage. Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth. Select pencil thick shoots in early autumn that are about 20 - 25cm long and plant them in a sheltered position outdoors or in a cold frame. The cuttings can take 12 months to establish but a high percentage of them normally succeed. Division of suckers in the dormant season. Plant them out direct into their permanent positions. Layering. Takes 12 months.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Shrub

Hardiness: 4-7

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Dry, moist

Things to keep in mind

Thorns

Its other names

Local names

Climbing Wild Rose, Prairie rose

Synonyms

R. setigera var. serena E.J.Palmer & Steyerm. R. setigera var. setigera. R. setigera f. setigera. R. trifoliata Raf. R. trifoliolata Raf. ex B.D.Jacks. [Spelling variant].