Burnet Rose (rosa pimpinellifolia / spinossissima)

• Native UK wild rose, highly hardy and adaptable, thriving in challenging conditions like coastal, exposed, or dry sites.
• Excellent for wildlife gardens: attracts pollinators with sweetly scented creamy-white flowers (May-June); black/purple hips provide autumn-winter food for birds.
• Forms dense, very thorny thickets, ideal for impenetrable low hedging, security barriers, or ground cover to stabilise soil and prevent erosion.
• Tolerates poor, sandy, or light soils; low-maintenance with attractive fern-like foliage.

Planting and Care

• Best time: Plant bare-root in dormant season (November-March); container-grown any time, ideally autumn-spring.
• Site: Full sun preferred (partial shade tolerated); well-drained soil, excels in poor/sandy conditions but benefits from humus-rich conditions.
• Spacing: For hedging, 33-60cm apart (3-5 plants per metre in single or double row); allow room to spread as it suckers freely.
• Planting: Dig in well-rotted organic matter; mulch annually in late winter/early spring.
• Care: Feed with rose/shrub fertiliser in early spring and midsummer for best flowering; prune/trim in winter if needed for shape (minimal required); wear gloves due to dense thorns.
• Notes: Once-flowering species; control suckering if unwanted by removing shoots.