Rosa carolina
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- ROH-sah kay-roh-LEE-nah
- Description
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Carolina rose is a woody, deciduous shrub in the rose family (Rosaceae) and native to eastern and central North America. It grows from 6 inches to 5 feet tall and 1 to 5 feet wide.
Carolina rose requires moist, well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. The shrub will flower best and be most disease resistant when sited in full sun. It tolerates heat and occasionally dry soil. Crowns appreciate protection in cold winter climates. Prune in late winter to early spring. Look here for a guide to pruning shrub roses. Carolina rose will spread via suckering. Propagate this shrub by root cutting, stem cutting, or seed. It is resistant to the rose rosette virus.
The flowers attract bees and butterflies and is a host plant for the Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus). After the flowers fade in late summer they mature into red hips, which are showy and a source of food for songbirds, quail, wild turkey, and small mammals in fall and winter. Tea or jelly can be made from rose hips. The shrub provides excellent cover year-round for wildlife. Native bees nest in the dead, hollow stems, so gardeners are encouraged to cut back dead stems to 12 to 24 inches and allow them to remain standing until they disintegrate on their own. Read more about best practices for stem-nesting bees in this NC Extension publication.
Carolina rose is ideal for a hedge. Use it in a recreational play area or butterfly, children's, edible, or pollinator gardens.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Rose petals or leaves are consumed by fuller rose beetles, Japanese beetles, and the rose chafer beetle. Roses are also susceptible to flower thrips, rose aphids, and spider mites. Leaves and stems are browsed by white-tailed deer and elk.
VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Alba'
- 'Alba'
- 'Alba'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Alba'
- 'Alba'
- 'Alba'
- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Rosa
- Species:
- carolina
- Family:
- Rosaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- This plant was used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes.
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Root Cutting
- Seed
- Stem Cutting
- Wildlife Value:
- It provides excellent cover year round. Hips are eaten by songbirds, quail, wild turkey and small mammals. Bumblebees, diggerbees, green metialic bees, Anthophorine bees (Anthopora spp.) syrphid flies, and beetles visit the flowers in search of pollen. Moth larva feed on the leaves. Leaves and stems are browsed by white-tailed deer and elk.
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Attracts Pollinators
- Edible fruit
- Wildlife Cover/Habitat
- Wildlife Food Source
- Edibility:
- Remove the white, bitter base of the petals of the edible flowers before using to garnish desserts, freeze in ice cubes and float in punch. The petals can be used in syrup, jelly, butter, and spreads. The hips are also edible.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 0 ft. 6 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Fine
- Appendage:
- Prickles
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Very Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 3 feet-6 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Red/Burgundy
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Achene
- Fruit Description:
- Red fruit displays from August to October.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Pink
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Head
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Fragrant
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- 1-3 inches
- Flower Description:
- 2 in., single, rich rose pink (rarely white) with bright yellow stamens and a pistil at the flat wide center. Fragrance is typical of roses, flowers appear from May to June on pedicles with glandular hairs. Green pointed sepals also have glandular hairs.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gold/Yellow
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Description:
- Alternate compound leaves with oddly pinnate 5-7 ovate leaflets, with serrate margins (ocassionally 3 leaflets) with the central stem having hairs. Leaflets are 2 inches long and 1 inch across.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Green
- Pink
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Form:
- Straight
- Stem Description:
- Prickles which are narrow and straight appear often in oppisite pairs or scattered on straight thin stems. Young stems are smooth and green pink, red turning brown as they mature.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Recreational Play Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Butterfly Garden
- Children's Garden
- Edible Garden
- Native Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Design Feature:
- Hedge
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Moths
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Specialized Bees
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Compaction
- Drought
- Heat
- Problems:
- Frequent Disease Problems
