Zone: 3 to 9

Soil: sand to clay

Light: Full sun to part sun

Bloom colour: Pink with yellow centre

Bloom period: June to August

Height: 1 to 12 feet, usually 5 - 8 feet

Moisture: Usually dry to medium

Attracts: Bumblebees and birds.

Notes:

Roses have exquisite flowers. They are large flowers with a somewhat delicate look. There are few other flowers to rival the beauty of roses and hence they have been placed in gardens for thousands of years. Multiple levels of hybridisation have resulted in the tea roses that we commonly see in gardens today but these flowers have low ecological function. There are several native roses in our part of the continent. While they do not rival the perfection of tea roses, our native species are both beautiful and attractive to pollinators.

Most bees come to roses to collect abundant pollen on the stamens. The photograph clearly shows that the pistillate structure in the centre of the flower is also producing nectar or some other secretion to attract Ceratina.

Birds are attracted to roses as nesting sites, especially cardinals. The rosehips are somewhat edible and when everything else has been eaten in winter, some birds may turn to rosehips to survive.

In the great lakes area, there are many different species to choose from. The flowers of different species are similar enough that there is no point buying a plant based on flower colour. Consider the height, the degree of spreading and the growing conditions when determining which species to put in your garden. For most gardens, Rosa blanda is recommended because it handles drought and regular garden conditions quite well. It does not spread as much as other plants and grows to about 5 feet tall. It also has the advantage of being less thorny than other species.

All of the following species are for larger gardens due to their tendency to spread by suckering. For wetter areas, consider R. carolina which is a bit larger than R. blanda and if you want to occupy an even larger space, plant R. palustris, swamp rose. For moist soils in shade, you can try R. virginiana. For more northernly areas around the great lakes, the pan-Canadian species, R. acicularis is often available. If your garden is like a dry sandy prairie, then plant R. arkansana, which is a very rare plant in Ontario. This species is the shortest of the roses but it can still spread through rhizomes.

Rosa setigera, which has become rare in many parts of its range, stands apart from the other roses because it climbs and it is dioecious meaning that male and female flowers are on different plants. Give it a lattice or something else to grow on and it can reach 12 feet in height. It requires average conditions and resents any excessive wetness or dryness.