Burnet rose

Burnet rose: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Low, dense shrub of 0.3–1 m that spreads by suckers into broad, impenetrable mats.

Leaf

Alternate, pinnate with 7–11 small (0.5–1.5 cm), round leaflets, single- or double-toothed; reminiscent of burnet leaves.

Stems

Stems densely covered with straight prickles mixed with stiff bristles.

Flower

Creamy white, sometimes pale pink flowers (2–4 cm), borne singly on short side shoots, in May–June; lightly scented.

Fruit

Round, glossy purplish-black hips (1–1.5 cm) still crowned with the sepals, in August–September.

Difference from Japanese rose and dog rose

The Japanese rose has much larger, wrinkled leaves, large pink or white flowers and fat red hips; the dog rose is a tall shrub with curved prickles, pink flowers and red hips.

Flowering: May–June · Harvest and fruit: May–June and August–September · Pruning: February–March

Identify by feature: Black berries · Thorns or prickles

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Japanese rose Rosa rugosa: much larger, wrinkled leaves, large pink or white flowers and fat red hips. Difference from Japanese rose
• Dog rose Rosa canina: a tall shrub with curved prickles, pink flowers and red hips. Difference from dog rose

Why grow it?

• A native alternative to the Japanese rose, which is invasive in the dunes.
• A low, prickly ground cover or small hedge for sunny, sandy soil, even by the sea.
• Creamy white flowers in May–June for bees and bumblebees.
• Glossy black hips: unusual, as most wild roses have red ones.
• Tolerates drought, sea wind and salt.

Burnet rose: where does it grow best?

• Full sun.
• Dry, poor, sandy soil, including chalky dune sand; no wet or heavy soil.
• Tolerates sea wind and salt: one of the best small shrubs for a coastal garden.
• Allow 1.5 m width or more: it spreads by suckers. Give it room, or install a root barrier.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Dry

Size

0.8 m tall, 1.5 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Sea buckthorn: A native thorny shrub of the same dunes, with orange berries in autumn.
• Sweet-briar: A taller wild rose for dry, sunny soil, with pink flowers and red hips.
• Garden thyme: A fragrant, low herb for the same dry, sunny spot.
• Common rock-rose: Small yellow flowers in summer on poor, dry soil, beside the low rose.

Good and bad companions

Best kept away from

• Do not plant under the dense crown of these trees: norway spruce, european silver fir, nordmann fir, douglas fir, yew, horse chestnut, norway maple, sycamore

Burnet rose: when and how to plant it?

1. Buy a burnet rose from a nursery that sells native planting stock, sometimes under the name Rosa pimpinellifolia. Never take plants from the dunes: they are protected nature.
2. Plant from November to March, bare-root or from a container.
3. For a low hedge or a ground-covering edge: about 3 plants per metre.
4. Don’t enrich the planting hole; water after planting and during dry spells in the first year.

Care

Watering

Only in dry spells during the first year; never again after that.

Feeding

Don’t: on rich soil it grows floppier and flowers less.

Suckers

Chop off suckers that spread too far with a sharp spade, preferably at the end of winter.

Prickles

Wear sturdy gloves: the stems are covered in prickles and bristles.

Tip: Live on the coast or near the dunes? Plant burnet rose instead of Japanese rose: it copes just as well with wind and salt, and doesn’t overrun the wild.

Burnet rose: when to prune it?

Pruning months: February–March.

When: End of winter.

How:

• Cut the oldest, bare stems off at ground level; young stems flower best.
• Spade off suckers that spread too far.
• Don’t shear it into shape: the flowers are borne on short side shoots from the old wood.

Caution: Leave the black hips: they are food for birds.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Suckers

In winter, spade off a rooted sucker and replant it straight away in its new spot.

Sowing

In autumn, take the seeds from ripe hips and sow them outdoors in a pot; they usually only germinate after a winter.

Burnet rose: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy, even on the coast.
• In winter the prickly stems form a dense shelter for small birds.

Diseases and pests

• Suckers in the border: It pops up in unexpected places. Install a root barrier when planting, or spade off the suckers every year.
• Bare, old stems: An old plant becomes bare in the centre. In February–March, cut the oldest stems off at ground level.
• Mildew and leaf spot: A white coating or small black spots on the leaves, especially in a spot that is too sheltered and damp. Give it an open, sunny position.

Through the year

• February: Remove old stems; spade off suckers.
• March: Last month for pruning and bare-root planting.
• May: Flowering begins: creamy white flowers for bees and bumblebees.
• June: Last flowers.
• August: Hips turn glossy black.
• September: Leave the hips for the birds; collect seed.
• November: Planting; lift and replant suckers.

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape

Low, prickly ground cover or small hedge for sunny, sandy soil, even by the sea.

For wildlife

Flowers for bees and bumblebees, hips for birds; binds shifting sand.

Caution: Produces lots of suckers: give it room or install a root barrier.

Edible and useful

Flowers (May–June)

Pick the creamy white flowers in May and June on a dry morning, just after they have opened; they stay fresh for only a few days. Take just some of the flowers from each bush and leave the rest for the bees and the hips. Pull the petals loose and shake out any insects. They smell soft and sweet: use them fresh for vinegar or butter, or scatter them over a salad.

Fruit (August–September)

The purple-black hips are ripe in August and September, when they are glossy black and give slightly. They taste milder and a little drier than red hips. Snip them off, remove the stalk and sepals, halve them and scrape out the seeds with their hairs. Then use them cooked, in compote or chutney.

Storing

Fresh petals keep for a day in the fridge; dry them loose on paper in the shade and keep them in a closed jar. Cleaned hips can be frozen. Chutney and vinegar keep for months in clean, sterilised jars and bottles; rose butter keeps in the fridge or freezer.

Caution: Do not pick in the dunes or other nature reserves: picking is forbidden there and the burnet rose is a valuable species. Only harvest from a bush in your own garden or with the owner’s permission. The seeds have itchy hairs: always remove them. Do not confuse the purple-black hips with poisonous black berries such as those of privet or black nightshade: hips have sepals at the tip and grow on a prickly bush. Only use unsprayed flowers, away from busy roads, and never eat anything you have not identified with certainty.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Rose petal vinegar (Vinegar · ± 500 ml · 10 min + 2 weeks steeping)
• Rose butter (Other · ± 150 g · 15 min + 1 hr chilling)
• Rose hip and apple compote (Compote · 4 servings · 40 min)
• Rose hip chutney (Dish · ± 3 jars of 200 ml · 1 hr)

Did you know?

• With its suckers it forms low, impenetrable mats that help to fix the shifting sand in the dunes.
• It is one of the few wild roses with black hips.
• Its fine leaflets look like those of salad burnet; hence its former name Rosa pimpinellifolia and its English name, burnet rose.