Nootka Rose (Rosa nutkana)

This text was originally published in Coastal Grower (formerly The Island Grower) in Victoria, British Columbia. For subscription information, please call Susanne Steele at the Coastal Grower at 250-478-0825.

Wild roses grow in great profusion in British Columbia. From early to late spring their pinkish blossoms sparkle on thickets and hedge rows. Hardier and more vigorous than most of their cultivated kin, these native species have many uses in the home garden and natural landscape. Nootka rose is the largest of the five species that inhabit B.C.

Nootka rose grows as a shrub of variable form. Specimens with lots of room, moisture and little bit of shade form tall (2.5 m or more) arching shrubs with stout thorny stems. In sunny hedge rows and thickets, the plants marshall into impenetrable many-stemmed masses, chest- to head-high. A pair of large and often vicious thorns lurks where the leaves meet the stem, and distinguish Nootka rose from our other native species.

Typical rose foliage of 5-7 small, oval, toothed leaflets attached to a leaf stalk, arch gracefully from the stems. The foliage emits one of the most delicious scents in nature. Warm, late spring sun coaxes forth a scent like semi-sweet cinnamon from thickets along the sea shore.

Flamboyant pink blooms adorn the thorny thickets in spring and early summer. The 5 cm (2") wide, flowers usually occur singly. Five velvety petals surround a central mass of golden stamens. The ovary is inferior -- botanically speaking -- and occupies the swollen structure beneath the petals and long sepals. In late summer it matures into a spherical orange red hip or fruit. The fleshy rind of the fruit surrounds whitish seeds covered in tiny hooked hairs.

Nootka roses are distributed abundantly throughout central and southern BC, especially along the coast. Outside of BC you can find them from Alaska to northern California, eastward to Utah and Colorado. Nootka rose forms and participates in thickets with other species in open areas, and also appears in light woods. Damp, but not inundated, sites bring out spectacular growth especially in warm dry regions.

This species is an exceptional subject for landscape or garden planting. Raise it from fall-sown seed or buy it from a nursery. Nootka rose propagates easily from rooted offset shoots. The tendancy to sucker is both a great advantage and a challenge. Thickets form quickly, making this rose an excellent hedge plant especially to screen out, and keep out unwanted foot traffic. On the other hand, the spreading thickets demand ruthless control. You can control this inclination by using deeply seated curbs or cement pads. We effectively corralled the Nootka roses at the Native Plant Garden of the Royal BC Museum with concrete paths. Nootka rose works well as natural shrubby transition to woodland, or in moist sites under power lines.

Nootka rose benefits from pruning after flowers have faded. Remove weak and old branches especially those that have been overarched by vigorous new growth.

First Nations people used roses in various ways. On Vancouver Island, Salish ate the raw orange outside rind in the fall. Other BC first peoples were familiar with the food value of the fruits too. However, several elders warned not to eat the seeds because they gave you an "itchy bottom' on the way out!. Fresh spring green shoots were collected and eaten as a vegetable, tonic or beauty aid. The dried fruits make and excellent tea full of Vitamin C. Nootka roses attract abundant wildlife too.

If it's a multi-purpose tough shrub you want, then it's hard to beat our Nootka rose.