PlantFiles: Cherokee Rose, Rosier Blanc de Neige, Snow-White Rose
Rosa laevigata

I have this wildrose growing in my backyard, and side yard. It's a native shrub here in southwestern Virginia. Yes, it can be invasive, but the fragrance from this Rose makes it worth keeping contained!! When in full bloom, it is so beautiful. See my photo.

Make sure you have this and not an invasive which can be mistaken for this -- we had several wild roses very similar to this on our property. One was growing up into and nearly killing a dogwood tree (keeping all sunlight from it. Base of that rose was so large that I could not cut it with even my largest limb lopper -- had to use a chain saw! Note: that one bloomed in spring, so it's description matches the cherokee rose more closely than the mccartney rose. I am unsure if it was yet another similar one, so I put this comment as "neutral" rather than "negative"

Controversial as to if invasive or not - check on what it is like WHERE YOU ARE AT
While it is the State Flower of Georgia, it has been reported to be invasive in other areas.
Cherokee rose(Rosa laevigata Michx.)
From: [HYPERLINK@www.gardenmob.com]
"The 'Cherokee Rose' is often confused with Rosa bracteata (Macartney Rose) which is similar in form, but is so prolific that its rampant growth places it in the category of pest. 'Macartney Rose' flowers in summer, while the Cherokee Rose flowers in spring.
...
"The 'Cherokee Rose' is a climber which blooms once a year, bearing large, white flowers, each with five petals. It is vigorous, climbing upwards of 20 feet. Make sure that you have plenty of room for this historic, yet non-native and thankfully, non-invasive rose."

Cherokee Rose, Rosier Blanc de Neige, Snow-White Rose Rosa laevigata is naturalized in Texas and other States and is considered an invasive plant in Texas.

Some folklore I once read, (or perhaps it was an accurate historical factoid), about this plant is that it was brought to the Americas by the colonists. They used is as a deer break around their gardens. It grows very densely under the right conditions. The thorns are so sharp that deer won't walk through it, and it can grow high enough that the deer can't jump over it (though it is hard for me to believe that there is anything that deer can't jump!).

Those of you with deer problems may want to go back to one of our nation's oldest method of deer control. In its single, annual Springtime blooming period, the Cherokee Rose is an amazing mass of flat, white flowers. I used it as the subject for one of my oil paintings.

It can be propagated by rooting pruned cuttings from the stems. I usually have the best luck with taking the most tender part of the stem toward the stem tip, dipping the tip in a root stimulating hormone, and placing it in moist soil and keeping the soil evenly moist. New leaves beginnig to appear on the stem are a good indicator that the pruned stem is taking root. (I use this method with a lot of my roses).

My current Cherokee Rose has an interesting (I think) story:
Soon after I bought my house in February three years ago, I saw Cherokee Rose blooming profusely at a nearby house on a corner that was on my way to the grocery store. I greatly admired the rose, and would slow down to view it on each trip to the store. The Cherokee Rose had intertwined in a chain link fence and had completely covered the fence for a span of about 30 feet.

Soon afterwards, the house with the Cherokee Rose went up for sale and was empty. I couldn't resist the opportunity to pilfer (or propagate, in my justification). I was able to dig up some of the smaller rooted stems from around the perimeter of the fence. I was successful in getting these to grow and shared some with a friend. We both now have stunning displays of Cherokee Rose.

When the house sold, the new owners totally eradicated the Cherokee Rose! I was heartsick at losing this Springtime eye candy, and was very glad I had overcome my scruples and decided to pilfer the rose.

Not long ago, I was at the grocery store and happened to run into a friend of about 20 years that I hadn't seen in a very long time. As it turned out, he lived in the same neighborhood as did I! We chatted a while and he mentioned that he once owned the house on the corner from the grocery store, but that he had sold it in order to move into another nearby house that had been left to him by a woman for whom he provided care in her final years. I asked him if his former corner house had been the house with the Cherokee Rose, and he answered "Yes!" He went on to tell me how he had found the rose growing near our airport and that it had reached the very top of some old oak trees. He had climbed to the top of the trees in a precarious scramble in order to get some stem cuttings of the rose, which he successfully grew all along the chain link fence at his former house. He commented on how proud he had been of the rose display and we both bemoaned the new owners' decision to rip the Cherokee Rose out by the roots and destroy it.

But the good news was that I had saved some of his "heirloom" rose and that I would be able to provide him a rooted cutting so that he could start the Cherokee Rose again at his new house! He was ecstatic!

Ain't it amazin' how coincidipities intersect our lives in so many fascinating ways! (coincidipities = a word I coined to describe serendipitious coincidences).

Jeremy

Mine is in full glorious bloom right now!!! Wish I had a digicam to post a pic.
I got this as a bare-root plant last spring and this is it's first year to bloom. It has really grown on the fence as well.
So far it has been worry-free and healthy.


Edited to say that it is now almost Christmas and this rose appears to be evergreen! It is as green as it was in the spring.

I live in Southeast Texas and this flower grows beautifully here. I never knew very much about it; so your site has been very helpful. Thank You

This beautiful native climbing rose blooms in early April in Summerville, South Carolina (U.S.), where winter temperatures rarely fall below 10°F. It climbs trees in the woods by means of numerous, VERY SHARP thorns, but it must be tied upward if transplanted to a yard setting. Blooms are spectacular!

Mounding bush to 5 ft. or climber to 15 ft., the Cherokee Rose is the state flower of Georgia. I found it easy to grow and maintain as a teen on our mailbox (it protected the mailbox from "bashers"), so I would say it is easy to grow.