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Rosaceae
Swamp Rose
Rosa palustris
Beauty in unlikely places.
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Genus
- Rosa
- Native to
- eastern North America
- Bloom season
- Early Summer
- Type
- deciduous shrub
- Height
- 1.5–2.5 m
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- wet, acidic
- Water
- very high
- Hardiness
- 4–9
- Lifespan
- long-lived perennial
Did you know
- It is the only North American rose that thrives in standing water and tolerates true swamp conditions.
- The pink fragrant flowers bloom later than most native roses, often into late June in the eastern states.
- It is the host plant for the elegant rose curculio weevil, a tiny scarlet-and-black beetle.
- Beavers and muskrats eat the canes; deer mostly leave it alone because of the dense thorns.
- Its species name 'palustris' means 'of the marsh' — a literal botanical address.
Color meanings
Pink
tender resilience in marshes