Pink Roses

Don’t be fooled. Just because a rose you find in the woods is pink does not mean it is a native rose. Though a bit unusual this picture above is of a Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora). Multiflora Roses normally are white but on occasion a huge bush of this rose will decide to be independent and its flowers will emerge as pink roses.

These roses, white or pink are aggressive plants, native to China, Japan, and Korea, forming huge thickets that overtake our native plants, not giving them a chance.

There are native pink roses though. Pretty pink and no worry about taking over the whole mountain. This one is a Pasture Rose (Rosa carolina). Just one to three feet tall. Quite understated.

A difference between the two plants — Thorns: Pasture Rose has straight thin thorns sometimes two opposite each other on the stem. Multiflora Rose has thick backward pointing thorns.

Ah, if only I had all the time in the world to get rid of the Multiflora Roses to give our native plants a chance.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

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