california native flora

Rosa Californica – California Wild Rose

Click Image To Enlarge

Roses are a common site in many gardens but it’s not so common to see those native to California. California’s wild rose (Rosa Californica) is a fairly fast grower forming thickets that are very good for protecting wildlife trying to deny their place in the food chain. I have put this next to our other thorny resident, Fuchsia-flowering Gooseberry (Ribes Speciosum) where it hopefully won’t mess up my wife’s clothes (it’s in the kitchen hahaha, only joking wife!).

If you look at the picture, there is a small stem that had just started growing – a product of the parent plant’s rhizomes. As of today, 7 weeks after the picture was taken, that new stem is the same height as the parent stem so it seems to be a pretty fast grower. The recent rains have helped. While this plant is drought tolerant a little extra moisture can give it a boost. In the wild Rosa Californica is often found in moist areas with shade to partial shade.

This plant can grow over 5′ tall. The pink flowers appear in late spring to summer and in the autumn it produces shiny orange to red hips that are apparently good for tea. Winter is the dormancy period for California Wild Rose.