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Western Wood's Rose (Rosa woodsii)

from $13.99

Botanical name: Rosa woodsii‍ ‍ • Bloom season: Late spring to summer‍ ‍ • Bloom color: Pink with gold stamens‍ ‍ • Host plant (elsewhere in North America): white-lined sphinx

A thicket-forming native rose with single pink flowers with five petals around a group of gold stamens. In the fall, red hips follow the flowers and hold on the bare canes all winter. Single flowers matter here: unlike a double garden rose, the pollen is fully accessible, and native bees work it heavily. The rose hips then feed birds through the coldest months.

Botanical name: Rosa woodsii‍ ‍ • Bloom season: Late spring to summer‍ ‍ • Bloom color: Pink with gold stamens‍ ‍ • Host plant (elsewhere in North America): white-lined sphinx

A thicket-forming native rose with single pink flowers with five petals around a group of gold stamens. In the fall, red hips follow the flowers and hold on the bare canes all winter. Single flowers matter here: unlike a double garden rose, the pollen is fully accessible, and native bees work it heavily. The rose hips then feed birds through the coldest months.

Size:

Plant Characteristics

Botanical Name: Rosa woodsii

Common Name: Western Wood's Rose

Native: Native

Sun: Full Sun to Part Sun

Water: Low

Bloom Time: Late spring to summer

Bloom Color: Single pink with gold stamens

Pollinators: Bees

Mature Size: W 3'-6' (thicket-forming) x H 3'-6'

Soil: Adaptable; tolerates lean and seasonally moist soil

Plant Type: Deciduous shrub

USDA Zones: 3 to 8

Spread Habit: Suckers; thicket-forming

Available As: Live plant

Native Region: Great Basin; Southern Rocky Mountains; Middle/Central Rockies; Northwestern Great Plains (widespread western)

Host Plant (Elsewhere in North America): white-lined sphinx

Growing Notes

Western Wood’s Rose likes full sun to part sun in adaptable ground; it tolerates lean soil and seasonally moist spots. Give it room and plant it where a thicket is welcome, such as a hedgerow, a property edge, or a wild corner, rather than trying to keep it in a tidy border. Water through the first two summers.

  • Water: Low

  • Sun: Full Sun to Part Sun

  • Soil: Adaptable; tolerates lean and seasonally moist soil

  • Mature size: W 3'-6' (thicket-forming) x H 3'-6'

Maintenance

Prune in late winter, removing the oldest canes at the base to keep it vigorous rather than shearing it. Leave the hips on through winter for the birds. It suckers and spreads, which suits a hedgerow but becomes a problem in a border, so cut a hard edge annually if you need to contain it. It needs no spraying; a native rose in the right site does not get the trouble a hybrid tea rose does.