Rosa palustris Seeds | Swamp Rose
LATIN NAME: Rosa palustris
COMMON NAME: Swamp Rose
Plant Profile
Swamp rose is the rose of the eastern American wetlands, a loose, arching shrub of one to two metres that spreads by suckers into thickets at the edge of marshes and streams. The leaves are glossy and finely toothed, the flowers are clear pink and single in midsummer, and the hips are round and red. It is one of the few roses that tolerates wet, acid soil and standing water in spring, and it is a plant of full sun and wet ground. The stems are armed with slender, straight prickles rather than the heavy hooks of the dog rose.
Science & Biotechnology
Rosa palustris is a diploid in the Carolinae section, and it has been used in breeding for its tolerance of wet soils and its resistance to blackspot. Its taxonomy is comparatively clear, unlike the dog rose complex, and it is one of the parents of several hybrid musk and shrub roses. Studies of the species have focused on its wetland ecology, where its thickets stabilise banks and provide nesting cover, and on its hip chemistry, which follows the pattern of the genus with high vitamin C and carotenoid content. It is also one of the roses used in rootstock trials for wet ground, where the common rootstocks fail. Its prickles are straight and slender, and they break off in the skin, which is worth knowing at pruning time.
Uses & Benefits
The hips make good jelly and tea, and the plant is a fine wildlife shrub for a wet corner, where its thicket gives cover for birds and its flowers feed bees. It is used in wetland restoration and bank stabilisation, and in breeding for wet-soil tolerance. In the garden it is the answer to the difficult wet, acid spot where ordinary roses sulk, and its single pink flowers and red hips are more graceful than most shrub roses. It is also good at the edge of a pond, where its roots hold the bank and its flowers reflect in the water. Its hips are also eaten by grouse and pheasants, which is one reason it is planted on moorland edges.
Growing from Seed
The seed needs cold and damp: stratify at two to five degrees for twelve weeks, or sow outdoors in autumn. Sow in spring on a moist mix and expect germination over four to eight weeks. Grow the seedling in full sun, in soil that stays moist, and plant out at two years. It suckers, so give it room or a root barrier, and prune out the oldest canes in late winter to keep the thicket young and flowering. It tolerates flooding in winter but not drought in summer, so keep it near water. It also tolerates the shade of a wet woodland edge, where few roses will flower.
Our Take
The rose for the wet corner, with clear pink flowers, red hips and a tolerance nothing else in the genus offers. Plant it where the ground squelches in March and it will be happy.
Related Reading
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