woodland shrub

Prickly Wild Rose

Rosa acicularis

Also known as Prickly Rose, Wild Rose

Native to much of the USA and Canada

Circumpolar, irregularly southern in northern America to western New England, the northern Great Plains and the Rockies

Light Full sun to part shade Sun tolerance
Moisture Dry to wet Moisture preference
Zones 1–8 Cold to heat range
Bloom Jun–Jul Flowering time
Height up to 8 ft to 2.4 m
Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial

Full details, see below

In the garden

A woodland shrub for full sun to part shade and consistently moist to wet soil. Its white and pink flowers peak in June. At up to 8 ft, it needs room in shade gardens and woodland edges. It shrugs off drought once established. Hardy in USDA zones 1–8.

Growing conditions

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Hardiness zones

Find your zone:

When it blooms

The Prickly Wild Rose's white and pink flowers bloom June to July, peaking in June. This early-summer display draws bees and flower flies.

Prickly Wild Rose blooms white & pinkFoliage

Pollinators & wildlife

Bees Brown-belted Bumble Bee

also Western Honey Bee, Tricolored Bumble Bee, Black-tailed Bumble Bee +37 more
Red-belted Bumble Bee, Hunt's Bumble Bee, Perplexing Bumble Bee, Fuzzy-Horned Bumble Bee, Two-form Bumble Bee, Orange-legged Furrow Bee, Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee, Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee, Yellow-banded Bumble Bee, Great Basin Bumble Bee, Nearctic Bumble Bee, Hawthorn Mining Bee, Orange-tipped Wood-digger, Neighborly Mining Bee, White-shouldered Bumble Bee, Western Bumble Bee, Texas Leafcutter Bee, Cryptic Bumble Bee, Morrison's Bumble Bee, Black-and-gray Leafcutter Bee, Sanderson's Bumble Bee, Green Small-Mason, frigid bumble bee, Golden-tailed Leafcutter Bee, White-fronted Small-Mason, Annulate Masked Bee, Anthophora ursina, Osmia proxima, Osmia bruneri, Hylaeus wootoni, Lasioglossum manitouellum, Panurginus cressoniellus, Cinquefoil Masked Bee, Osmia densa, Washington Miner Bee, Colorado Masked Bee, Colletes americanus
Flower flies Margined Calligrapher

also Long-tailed Aphideater, Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly, Black-margined Flower Fly +14 more
Variable Duskyface Fly, Tufted Globetail, Bare-eyed Bee-mimic Fly, Woolly-tailed Marsh Fly, Short-haired Leafwalker, Black-bristled Logsitter, Spot-winged Drone Fly, Bombylius atriceps, Chrysotoxum integrum, Yellow-footed Leafwalker, grasshopper bee fly, Sphaerophoria cylindricus, Hemipenthes morioides, Orange-spotted Drone Fly
Beetles Bee-mimic Beetle

also Grammoptera subargentata, Gnathacmaeops pratensis, Judolia montivagans +5 more
Bigjaw Soldier Beetle, Cortodera longicornis, Evodinus monticola, Pseudogaurotina cressoni, Green Rose Chafer

Full plant details

Where it grows

Habitat: WoodlandThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: Much of the USA and CanadaUnited States (22): AK, CO, CT, IA, ID, IL, KS, MA, ME, MI, MN, MT, ND, NH, NM, NY, RI, SD, VT, WI, WV, WY. Canada (10): AB, BC, MB, NL, NT, NU, ON, QC, SK, YT. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Circumpolar, irregularly southern in northern America to western New England, the northern Great Plains and the RockiesThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Growing conditions

Light: Full sun to part shadeHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: Dry to wetThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 1–8 · Canadian 0–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: Rocky soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.
Soil texture: Light to heavy (sandy to clay)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
Soil pH: 6.8–7.5The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
Soil quality: LowHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
Water use: HighHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
Drought tolerance: HighRelative to plants of the same type and region, inferred from where it grows, not a days-without-water figure.
Salinity tolerance: NoneHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance: LowHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.

Growth & form

Height: up to 8 ft (to 2.4 m)Typical mature height.
Life cycle: PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Growth rate: RapidA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
Shape: ErectIts overall silhouette.
Root depth: 6+ in (15+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.

Flowers, foliage & fruit

Type: ShrubWhat kind of plant it is.
Bloom: Jun–JulWhen it flowers.
Flower color: White, PinkThe bloom color, or colors.
Fruit/Seeds: ripens Jul–SepThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
Toxicity: None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.

Propagation & seed

Cold stratification: Required (cold, moist)Whether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
Propagation: Bare root, container, cuttings, seedHow to start new plants.
Seed: ~0.0 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
Seed spread rate: ModerateHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
Seedling vigor: HighHow strongly young seedlings establish.
Vegetative spread: ModerateWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.