Virginia rose
Rosa virginiana · Rosaceae
Single, clear pink, scented flowers in early summer, glossy leaves that turn orange, crimson and purple in autumn, and red hips and red stems all winter.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 6 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Mid June to mid July
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around Virginia rose
The planner designed this bed around Virginia rose when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why Virginia rose stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Virginia rose × 1, pink
- 2 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 6, purple
- 3 Candytuft × 3, white
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 5 Wild quinine × 3, white
- 6 Chives × 11, purple
- 7 Hardy gladiolus × 5, pink
- 8 Persian fritillary × 5, purple
- 9 Easter lily × 5, white
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only open bowls. The others are dense clusters, daisies, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Tatarian aster 'Jindai' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From mid June to mid July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With verbena 'Homestead Purple', chives and hardy gladiolus in mid June: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Purple runs through the planting: 4 of the 9 kinds grown for their flowers have it. The back corners are held by Tatarian aster 'Jindai' and Virginia rose, the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Virginia rose goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
The best native rose for garden use: four seasons of interest and healthy foliage. It suckers into a thicket, so use it as a hedge or on a bank.
- Native hedges
- Autumn colour and winter hips
- Seaside planting
What to plant with Virginia rose
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Northern bayberry: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Arrowwood viburnum: in flower together for two weeks, from mid June; tall enough (8 ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about Virginia rose
Does Virginia rose need sun or shade?
Virginia rose grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does Virginia rose grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does Virginia rose flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to mid July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Late June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late June to mid July |
| Zone 5 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 6 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 7 | Early June to early July |
| Zone 8 | Early June to early July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should Virginia rose be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6 ft (180 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Virginia rose plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is Virginia rose poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension and the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat Virginia rose?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
Will Virginia rose spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by suckers into a thicket. Suited to hedges and banks.
What flowers after Virginia rose?
Virginia rose is over by mid July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Russian sage: from mid July to mid September, 4 ft tall.
- Tiger lily: from late July to late August, 4 ft tall.
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does Virginia rose look like in winter?
Virginia rose drops its leaves and stands as bare branches: it is grown for autumn colour and winter hips. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is Virginia rose good for bees and butterflies?
Virginia rose is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and songbirds.
It is native to the United States.
More Rosa
- Carolina rose Rosa carolina
- English rose Rosa (English shrub roses)
- English rose 'Gertrude Jekyll' Rosa 'Ausbord' (Gertrude Jekyll)
- English rose 'Graham Thomas' Rosa 'Ausmas' (Graham Thomas)
- Floribunda rose Rosa (Floribunda Group)
- Groundcover rose Rosa (Drift Group)
- Hybrid tea rose Rosa (Hybrid Tea Group)
- Hybrid tea rose 'Peace' Rosa 'Madame A. Meilland' (Peace)
- Redleaf rose Rosa glauca
- Rose 'Bonica' Rosa 'Meidomonac' (Bonica)
- Rose 'Carefree Beauty' Rosa 'Bucbi' (Carefree Beauty)
- Rose 'Double Knock Out' Rosa 'Radtko' (Double Knock Out)
- Rose 'Flower Carpet Pink' Rosa 'Noatraum' (Flower Carpet Pink)
- Rose 'Iceberg' Rosa 'Korbin' (Iceberg)
- Rose 'Julia Child' Rosa 'Wekvossutono' (Julia Child)
- Rose 'The Fairy' Rosa 'The Fairy'
- Rugosa rose Rosa rugosa
- Rugosa rose 'Blanc Double de Coubert' Rosa 'Blanc Double de Coubert'
- Rugosa rose 'Hansa' Rosa rugosa 'Hansa'
- Shrub rose 'Knock Out' Rosa 'Knock Out'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 6 ft (180 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid June to mid July; open bowls; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern North America
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Salt
Checked against NC State Extension, ASPCA poison lists and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.