Meadow Rose, Rosa blanda

Meadow Rose

Rosa blanda

Benefits: Pollinator Benefit Graphic
Sun Shade: Plant Light Requirements Graphic
Bloom Time: Summer
Hardiness Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Soil Conditions: Clay, Loam, Sand
Soil Moisture: Medium, Dry
Color: Pink
Fragrance: Yes
Height: 3-5 feet
Spacing: 1-2 feet

 Description
Meadow Rose, Rosa blanda, also called Smooth Rose, Wild Rose, or Rrairie Rose is closest to come to a thorn-less rose, with just a few thorns at the base. The meadow rose occurs as a colony-forming shrub growing to 3.3 feet high, naturally in prairies and meadows. The roses are quite variable, the characteristics such as leaf tip number of prickles and glandular hairs usually do not always remain constant.

Flowers are perfect, having both stamens and carpels, and they vary from white to pink in color. Blooming in early summer, the flowers are borne singly or in corymbs from lateral buds. The central flower opens first, containing no bract and a pedicel 1 inch long. The five large petals are shaped either obovate or obcordate, ½-inch long and 1 inch wide. The petals are colored white to pink with streaks of red, the anthers yellow, the stigma yellow/orange, and the filaments white. The stamens and style become erect once the petals fall. Berry-like rosehip fruits, popular with birds and a variety of wildlife, turn bright red in late summer.

It grows naturally in meadows, prairies and fields on dry hillsides, roadsides, fence rows, in either sandy or


 Further Information

 Wisconsin Fruit Trees
 Wisconsin Edible Berry Shrubs
 Widsconsin Edible Plants-Eat On The Wild Side
 8 Dandelion Recipes
 Wisconsin Native Plant Nurseries

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