5 Gallon
Light: Sun-Partial Sun
Soil: Medium-Dry
Mature Height: 3-6 feet
Mature Width: 6-10 feet
Description: Creates loose thickets, blooms heavily in June, gets small crimson hips in fall. Prairie Rose is a small rose which forms a very loose suckering thicket, allowing numerous prairie plants to grow around it. It grows fine in partial shade but abundant flowering and disease-resistance occurs in full sun.
Attracts: The most important visitors to the flowers are long-tongued bees, such as bumblebees, Anthophorine bees, and Miner bees (e.g., Synhalonia speciosa). Green Metallic bees, Syrphid flies, and various beetles (e.g., Trichiotinus piger) visit the flowers, but they are less effective at pollination. All of these insects seek pollen, as the flowers provide no nectar. The caterpillars of many species of moths feed on this and other wild roses. Other kinds of insects also feed on this plant, including Rhynchites bicolor (Rose Weevil; eats pith of woody stems, buds, & rose hips), Macrodactylus subspinosus (Rose Chafer Beetle), Edwardsiana rosae (Rose Leafhopper), Mordella spp. (Tumbling Flower Beetles; eat flowers), and Lepyronia gibbosa (Prairie Spittlebug). Several small mammals eat the rosehips, including the Cottontail Rabbit, Eastern Striped Skunk, and White-Footed Mouse. These animals help to disperse the seeds of the plant across considerable distances. The leaves, buds, and twigs are browsed by the White-Tailed Deer, notwithstanding the presence of occasional prickles.
