Rosa glauca

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Rosa glauca

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Kemper Code: A805

Common Name: shrub rose
Zone: 2 to 8
Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Rosaceae
Missouri Native: No
Native Range: South and central Europe to Caucasus
Height: 6 to 8 feet
Spread: 5 to 7 feet
Bloom Time: May - June Bloom Data
Bloom Color: Soft pink
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium

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Plant Culture and Characteristics

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Uses:		Wildlife:	Flowers:	Leaves:	Fruit:
Hedge	Suitable as annual	Attracts birds	Has showy flowers	Leaves colorful	Has showy fruit
Shade tree	Culinary herb	Attracts	Has fragrant flowers	Leaves fragrant	Fruit edible
Street tree	Vegetable	hummingbirds	Flowers not showy	Good fall color	Other:
Flowering tree	Water garden plant	Attracts	Good cut flower	Evergreen	Winter interest
Gr. cover (<1')	Will naturalize	butterflies	Good dried flower		Thorns or spines

General Culture:

Best grown in organically rich, medium moisture, well-drained loams in full sun. Best foliage color may be in part shade, but best flowering and disease resistance generally occur in full sun. Water deeply and regularly (mornings are best). Avoid overhead watering. Good air circulation promotes vigorous and healthy growth and helps control foliar diseases. Summer mulch helps retain moisture, keeps roots cool and discourages weeds. Remove and destroy diseased leaves from plants, as practicable, and clean up and destroy dead leaves from the ground around the plants both during the growing season and as part of a thorough cleanup during winter (dormant season). Prune as needed in late winter.

Noteworthy Characteristics:

Native to mountain areas in central and southern Europe, Rosa glauca is a species rose that is grown in gardens today for its attractive glaucous purple foliage and its tiny, soft pink flowers. Many gardeners consider the foliage to be the best ornamental feature. It is a vase-shaped suckering shrub that typically grows to 6-8’ tall. Foliage is an interesting blend of plum purple and gray green. Tiny slightly fragrant five-petaled flowers (to 1” diameter) appear in late spring. Flowers are followed by abundant orange-red hips that ripen in fall and usually persist well into winter. Reddish violet canes have very few thorns. Canes and hips provide winter interest. Synonymous with and formerly known as Rosa rubrifolia (rubri meaning red and folia meaning leaves in reference to the attractive foliage).

Problems:

Roses are generally susceptible to a large number of disease problems, the most common of which are black spot, powdery mildew and rust. Although good cultural practices are the first line of defense in disease control, regular preventative fungicide applications throughout the growing season are often required, particularly in humid climates with regular rainfall such as the St. Louis area. Watch for rose rosette and virus problems, which require more aggressive action. Potential insect problems include aphids, beetles, borers, scale, thrips, leafhoppers and mites. If natural predators fail to control insect populations adequately, then insecticide applications may become necessary. Rosa glauca has good natural resistance to the common foliar diseases.

Uses:

Excellent as a specimen or in small groups. Place at the rear of a perennial border. Naturalize in open woodland or shade gardens. Shrub borders. Hedge.