Field rose

Sun

Full sun or partial shade; flowers best with several hours of direct sun.

Water

Water regularly during the first growing season. Once established, water deeply during prolonged dry spells, especially against walls or beneath trees.

Soil

Moist but well-drained soil, including clay or chalk; tolerates a broad pH range. Avoid persistently waterlogged ground.

Height

5-8 ft (1.5-2.4 m), depending on support

Spread

8-13 ft (2.4-4 m)

Flowers

Single white flowers with yellow stamens in late spring to early summer; flowers once each year.

Foliage

Green, pinnate leaves, usually with five or seven toothed leaflets; deciduous.

Growth

Moderate to fast once established

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen
• Fragrant

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   2 ft (0.6 m)

2. After 1 year

   3 ft (0.98 m)

3. After 2 years

   4 ft (1.4 m)

4. After 3 years

   6 ft (1.7 m)

5. After 5 years

   6 ft (1.8 m)

   full size

About 3 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Native to

the UK

Growth rate

Fast

• Water deeply during dry weather in its first year rather than giving frequent light sprinklings.
• Mulch in spring with compost or well-rotted manure, keeping it away from the stem bases.
• Feed lightly with a balanced rose fertiliser in spring if growth is weak; avoid heavy nitrogen feeding.
• Tie long stems loosely to sturdy wires or supports; it cannot attach itself.
• Remove or redirect trailing stems before they root where they touch the soil.

Pruning. Prune after flowering, removing dead or damaged wood and cutting a few of the oldest stems back to the base when growth becomes crowded. Retain vigorous young stems for next year's flowers, and leave spent flowers if you want hips.

Late autumn

Plant bare-root roses while the soil is workable and not waterlogged or frozen.

Late winter

Check supports and ties, and remove dead or broken stems.

Spring

Mulch, feed lightly if needed, and water newly planted roses during dry spells.

Early summer

Check tender shoots for aphids and guide new stems onto their supports.

After flowering

Thin crowded growth and tie in young stems; retain spent flowers for hips.

Autumn

Remove unwanted rooted stems and leave hips for birds.

• Thread through a mixed native hedge for white flowers, hips and nesting cover.
• Train along a sturdy fence at a woodland edge to soften its outline.
• Let it scramble over a large bank where trailing stems have room to spread.
• Grow over a broad rustic arch with a late-flowering clematis to extend the season.

Garden styles it suits: English country, Cottage garden, Woodland, Wildlife garden, Native hedgerow and Rewilded.

Plant it with: Hawthorn, Hazel, Field maple, Foxglove, Hardy geranium and Late-flowering clematis.

Wildlife: Open flowers provide pollen for bees and other insects. Hips feed birds, while dense, prickly growth offers shelter and potential nesting sites.

• Aphids on soft shoots: dislodge with water and encourage ladybirds and other predators; avoid routine broad-spectrum spraying.
• Black spot: collect fallen infected leaves, improve airflow and water the soil rather than the foliage.
• Powdery mildew: prevent drought stress, mulch the root area and thin congested growth.
• Unwanted spread from trailing stems: lift stems off the soil or cut out rooted sections before they establish.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. Prickles can injure skin, mouths and eyes; hairs around the seeds inside the hips can irritate the mouth and digestive tract.

• Dog rose (Rosa canina)

  Usually more upright and arching, with pink or white flowers. Field rose has styles joined into a conspicuous central column, whereas dog rose has separate styles.

• Evergreen rose (Rosa sempervirens)

  Also has white flowers and joined styles, but its leaflets are glossier and more leathery, and it retains foliage in mild climates.

• Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora)

  Usually bears much larger clusters of small white flowers and has distinctly fringed stipules at the base of each leaf stalk.

The Latin arvensis means 'of fields', referring to the open country and field margins where this rose grows.

Propagation. Layer a low-growing stem into the soil and separate it once well rooted, or take hardwood cuttings in autumn. Seed needs cold stratification and can germinate slowly; seedlings may vary if other roses grow nearby.

Accepted botanical name

Rosa arvensis

Native range

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corse, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary and Ireland.

Measured

Soil pH 6.5 to 7. Average height 100 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0) and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.