Rose - Sweet Briar Rose (Rosa rubiginosa)

Sweet Briar Rose (Rosa rubiginosa)

Rosa rubiginosa is a lovely native rose. Google it and you'll find alarming reports about its invasive qualities in places like the U.S. and Australia, but in its native range - most of Europe - it's beautifully behaved. In the UK it occurs naturally mostly acros the south of the country.

Its alternative common name - the Eglantine rose - comes to us from Latin through Middle English. It also means sweet briar - referring to its fragrant leaves and spininess. It's these scented leaves which are the way to distinguish it from Rosa canina. Its delicate pink flowers also have a beguiling fragrance, as Shakespeare knew; Titania's bower was "Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine/ With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine". Sadly Eglantine is now out of favour as a Christian name (but what a great song! - Ed.).

Sweet Briar hips are used for Rosehip tea; not my sort of thing, but super rich in vitamin C. As all our roses, Rosa rubiginosa is great for wildlife all year round, offering forage and protection.

And like our other native roses it's a tough plant, tolerant of a range of conditions and soils. It has a dense habit which, together with its spininess, makes it a good hedge plant - either as a single species or in a mixed hedge.

Like all the native trees and shrubs we sell, our Sweet briar roses are grown in the UK from UK origin seed. We're currently selling them as 2 year old 60-90cm plants, in multiples of 5.

Suppliers: RV Roger

See our planting and size guide for details and tips on planting. Rosa arvensis plants are all bare root, and are consequently available for delivery from November until March. During this period there may be up to a month's delay between placing the order and dispatching, due to weather conditions or pressure of orders, which are dealt with in date sequence.