Sweet briar

Sun

Full sun is best; tolerates light partial shade, with fewer flowers and hips.

Water

Water regularly during the first growing season; established plants tolerate some drought but benefit from deep watering during prolonged dry spells.

Soil

Well-drained soil, including clay and chalk; tolerates a wide pH range. Avoid persistently waterlogged ground.

Height

6-10 ft (1.8-3 m)

Spread

6-10 ft (1.8-3 m), potentially wider through suckering

Flowers

Single, pale to rosy pink flowers with yellow centres in late spring and early summer; usually flowers once.

Foliage

Deciduous, divided green leaves with small, toothed leaflets. Glands beneath the leaves release an apple-like scent.

Growth

Moderate to fast

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Drought tolerant
• Cold hardy
• 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

   1.6 ft (0.5 m)

2. After 1 year

   3 ft (0.98 m)

3. After 2 years

   5 ft (1.5 m)

4. After 3 years

   6 ft (1.9 m)

5. After 5 years

   8 ft (2.4 m)

   full size

About 4 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

Invasive in

the US, Canada and Australia

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Water deeply during dry weather in the first growing season.
• Mulch in spring, keeping mulch clear of the stem bases.
• On poor soil, apply a balanced rose fertiliser in spring at the labelled rate; avoid heavy nitrogen feeding.
• Remove unwanted suckers at their point of origin before the clump expands.
• Leave spent flowers if you want autumn hips.
• Wear thick gloves and keep thorny stems away from narrow paths and play areas.

Pruning. In late winter, remove dead, damaged and crossing stems, cutting a few of the oldest canes to ground level when needed. Shape lightly after flowering, remembering that removing flowered shoots also removes developing hips.

Autumn

Plant while the soil is workable, water thoroughly and mulch.

Winter

Plant bare-root plants during mild weather when the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged.

Late winter

Remove damaged wood and thin congested growth.

Spring

Refresh mulch, feed if needed and remove unwanted suckers.

Early summer

Check new shoots for aphids and shape lightly after flowering if necessary.

Summer

Water young plants during dry spells and retain spent flowers for hips.

Late autumn

Leave hips for birds where spread is not a concern; otherwise remove them before wildlife disperses the seeds.

• Use in a mixed informal hedge with hawthorn and hazel for flowers, fruit and shelter.
• Place at the back of a large cottage border, with hardy geraniums covering the lower stems.
• Grow as a loose boundary thicket where its arching habit and thorns have space.
• Position near, but not overhanging, a broad path so the scented foliage can be enjoyed safely.

Garden styles it suits: Cottage garden, English country, Native hedgerow, Wildlife garden, Sensory garden and Romantic rose garden.

Plant it with: Hawthorn, Hazel, Hardy geranium, Catmint, Yarrow and Oxeye daisy.

Wildlife: Open flowers provide pollen for bees and other insects. Hips feed birds, while dense, thorny growth offers nesting cover; birds can also carry seeds into nearby habitats.

• Black spot: remove fallen infected leaves, improve airflow and water at soil level rather than over the foliage.
• Powdery mildew: prevent drought stress, mulch and thin crowded stems to improve airflow.
• Aphids: wash colonies from soft shoots with water and allow ladybirds and other predators to feed.
• Unwanted spread: remove suckers promptly and remove hips before seed dispersal; choose another shrub where it is invasive.

Not known to be toxic to cats, dogs, horses or people. Thorns can cause puncture wounds, and the fine hairs surrounding the seeds inside the hips can irritate the mouth, skin and digestive tract.

Where it spreads. Spreads by seed and suckers. It is invasive in parts of southeastern Australia, including New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, and in New Zealand. It is also invasive or locally troublesome in parts of western North America, including California, Colorado and British Columbia. Check local restrictions before planting.

• Dog rose (Rosa canina)

  Has similar arching stems, hooked thorns and pink flowers, but its leaves lack sweet briar's strong apple scent and abundant scented glands beneath the leaflets.

• Japanese rose (Rosa rugosa)

  Has strongly wrinkled leaves, densely prickly stems, larger flowers and broad, flattened hips; sweet briar has smaller leaflets and generally more elongated hips.

The Latin rubiginosa means rust-coloured, referring to the rusty-looking glands beneath the leaves, while sweet briar refers to the scented foliage and thorny stems.

Propagation. Take hardwood cuttings during the dormant season or detach rooted suckers while dormant. Seed needs cold stratification and can be slow and irregular to germinate; do not propagate or distribute it where invasive.

Accepted botanical name

Rosa rubiginosa

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Albania, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Rus, Corse, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East European Russia and France.

Measured

Soil pH 7.5 to 8. Average height 200 cm.

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