Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
January 26, 2003, issue no. 44
It’s cold. We’re just past January’s Wolf Moon and we’re three weeks away from the full of February’s Cold Moon. They say it’s as cold as the winter of ‘93-’94 and they’re dusting off the records from ‘76-’77, when the Long Island Sound froze over. It’s clear and crisp but hard to stay out long enough to relish the view. So here’s a picture for inside where it’s warm (or at least warmish in the cold zones).
This is a wooded lot that I walk by on the way to the grocery store. Here along the coast, in protected hollows like this, there’s a deep blanket of insulating snow left over from our last big storm. Safe under the blanket are dozens of marsh marigolds getting ready to bloom in April, along with a few squirrel-planted daffodils. And there’s a miniature tunnel city, created by mice and other little critters, allowing them to forge in relative warmth, hidden from the red-tail hawk that I often see here.
The red berries are rose hips of a rosa multiflora that, over time, will create an thick barrier of thorny brambles.
Once a native of China, rosa multiflora started its career in the Americas as a “natural fence”, and it is a low maintenance way to keep livestock in one place. I have not heard that it’ll stop a desperately hungry deer but, then, what will? Anyway, rosa multiflora escaped and now is usually seen in well-drained sunny spots where bird roost (as here).
Key to being a successful invasive plant is to attract birds since they spread the seeds that they eat. And the rosa multiflora feeds a lot of birds in late winter. So do other aliens like juniper, holly, Indian bittersweet, Rosa rugosa, English ivy, and barberry. In contrast, the only native bush that I’ve observed locally on untended land that still has its bird-edible berries at this time of year is the bayberry.
Rosa multiflora does need to be controlled. It is among the federal government’s top 20 invasives and has achieved noxious weed status in several states. To get it out of the garden, dig it up or cut it to the ground at least 3 times a year.
Here's the late spring flower, lovely but deadly:
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And what the readers said:
Well lady, it's a damned overwhelming nuisance here in Knox County Ohio. Cutting it down seventeen times a year is ineffectual and only irritates the cutter. Digging it out requires a backhoe. If the deer would eat it, I'd be a very happy camper - they much prefer roses and hostas. We’ve received five inches of the predicted flurries for today; it's definitely a hot chocolate evening. All best toma (OH)
I loved this week's issue on the rosehips -- could those be the kind of roses that pop up in my garden from time to time courtesy of the birds? This series of yours, Sue, is just great. I'm enjoying it so much. Liz (CT)
The photo of the red berries was neat but I thought the accompanying article was exceptional! Jack (CT)
Your Monday picture of rose hips brightened my day as always. Wonder if the birds rely on these for Vitamin C in late winter? …. I've been on a film shoot… and last night I was frozen solid after about an hour outdoors in spite of three layers of thermal clothing …. Gregg (NY)
Are the rose hips the same thing as "winter berrries" that we buy for "floral" arrangements during Nov/Dec? [don’t know] Also what do these rosa multiflora look like in the summer time? [white, single-rose flower in May ; similar to a raspberry] Kal (NY)
Comments (2)
This is more a question than a comment. I've been looking for rose hip plants and can't seem to find any.
Could you recommend a dealer? I live in ceneral Pennsylvania and no luck finding any yet.
Thank you
Barb
Posted by Barbara | June 14, 2005 9:27 AM
Posted on June 14, 2005 09:27
Barb -- Questions are welcome
Rose hips are the fruit of roses. Some rose varieties have larger and more attractive hips than others. Some hybrids don't make much fruit. Many garden roses don't have hips because the owners cut off (dead-head) the spent flowers. The rosa rugosa is one of the roses that has harvest-quality rose hips good for jellies, teas, etc.
The problem with most rose bushes is that they don't do well under ordinary garden conditions, especially in the northern parts of the country, and therefore are a magnet for pests and diseases and for the chemical fertilizers and pesticides that mis-guided gardeners somehow think are going to help.
The best bets tend to be your local native roses and in many parts of the country, the rosa rugosa. You can usually get native roses from your local nursery but do your homework and make sure that (1) the roses are native to your local area, not the other side of the country, and (2) your exact growing conditions (hours of sun, moisture, wind, soil, etc.) are what these particular roses like. Then swear that, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, you will not use chemicals (be they organic, natural or artificial) on your roses, and will nourish them only with mulch.
Rosa rugosa is discussed in my most recent article on roses and brambles, which also touches on native roses. The rosa rugosa is a toughie but is controversial as to whether it's invasive so be careful to plant it only where it can't spread out of control.
There may be other roses that will thrive in your area without chemical support, some with large hips, so ask around but be a bit skeptical of advice from those with a big self-interest in selling what they have on hand. Get the name and then go look the plant up on the web before buying.
Growing tips: almost all roses need full sun from 10 AM to 4 PM in the summer, good air circulation, and extra water during dry periods for their first two years. If you haven't got the sun, don't plant the rose -- it won't do well.
Leaf diseases such as mildew and leaf spot are best controlled by giving the plant plenty of open space for air circulation. Native roses get these diseases even under their ideal growing conditions so learn to live and let live. If you get a major attack, you can prune off the diseased leaves and discard them (in the garbage). A heathy rose will survive being completely stripped of it leaves once every other summer or so.
Companion plants: I have not done much work in this area but there's lots of material on the web about companion plants that help each other out in the garden. For example, I've heard that under-planting your roses with oniony plants like garlic and stinky ones like marigolds can be a big help with the bugs.
Timing: once it's starts to get really hot (around June 30), it's best to wait until fall or the following spring to plant.
Let me know if I can be of more help and good luck with your roses.
Sue
Posted by S. W. Sweeney | June 14, 2005 1:06 PM
Posted on June 14, 2005 13:06