Weed of the Week: Multiflora Rose

Or Weed of The Weekend….Be on the Lookout for This!

Look under your larger shrubs and beneath trees for these young, wild rose plants. The birds eat the rose hips (seeds) in the fall and then “plant them” in your yard and gardens. You will recognize this because it is very thorny, even when small. Dig them out or pull wearing heavy gloves for protection.

These wild roses are Rosa multiflora. It is a plant that is now illegal to sell in the state of Massachusetts.

These plants grow very long canes. When allowed to stay near shrubs or trees, they will grow up into the tops of other plants. In fact, firefighters dislike this wild rose because it’s known as “ladder plant” that can carry fire from the ground up into the canopy of trees. Not a good thing!

When the multiflora rose grows over shrubs it can smother or shade out those plants. It’s easy to identify the Rosa multiflora in June when it’s flowering, so they can be clipped off at ground level so they don’t damage your plants. Yes, the flowers are fragrant, but only for a week in June.

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