Laura Dean Bennett Staff Writer Roses are one of the most popular and beloved flowers in the world. Their history as a cultivated plant goes back at least 5,000 years. We really love our rose bushes – but there is this one. The multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), also known as Japanese Rose, was thought to [...]
Buy very thorny roses. Here are the most thorniest roses we grow, some are more so than others and can provide a hindrance for any unwanted guests.
Pruning raspberries (Rubus ideaus and Rubus occidentalis) provides room for their new stems to grow and helps prevent the spread of plant diseases. Hardy in U.S.
In the 1960’s, the Munsters were the beloved monster family on television. In a later version, Angelica Houston played Morticia. I always got a kick out of Morticia’s care of her roses—cutting off the buds, then standing back to admire the thorny stems she’d placed in a vase shown here. I had art instructor at college who hated pruning the family roses every year. It really irked him. (I’ve never been able to prune mine without getting pricked at best, or gouged and bloodied at worst, so I understood). He had a gallery exhibit that year—of roses with lots of thorns and blood. But on the serious side (?), there is a very proper way to prune roses that I’d like to share with you in case you need to know. Visit Natasha for all the details (after the short Bill Maher ad.) I never knew about the Elmer’s Glue!! After watching this video, I felt like I needed to brew a pot of proper tea to have with crumpets or cucumber sandwiches. So, why do roses have thorns anyway? Well, here’s an edited version of the Salteaux Indian legend explaining it, found in its totality at First People website. Great story for the kiddies. Long, long ago, Wild Roses had no thorns. They grew on bushes the stems of which were smooth and fragrant and the leaves a delicate green. The sweet-smelling pink blossoms covered the bushes. Oh, they were beautiful to see! But they made such delicious eating, that the Rabbits and other creatures who loved grass and herbs, nibbled the pink petals and green leaves, and sometimes ate up the bushes. By and by there were only a few Rose-Bushes left in the whole world. They met together to see what they could do about it, and decided to go and find Nanahboozhoo, who had magic power, and ask him for help. They met a little animal who told them, "Nanahboozhoo is in a valley among the mountains, where he is planting and taking care of a flower-garden." The Rose-Bushes told the wind to blow them to that valley, and it did. As they drew near the flower-garden, they heard Nanahboozhoo shouting, for he was in a great rage. At this the Rose-Bushes were dreadfully frightened, and hid among some Balsam Trees. But they soon learned that some weeks before he had planted a hedge of Wild Roses around his garden, and when they were covered with spicy pink blossoms, he had gone away for a few days. When he returned he found that the Rabbits and other creatures had eaten up his hedge of Wild Roses, and trampled down all his flowers. Now, when the Rose-Bushes knew why Nanahboozhoo was shouting with rage, they left their hiding-place, and a puff of wind blew them straight to Nanahboozhoo's feet. He was surprised to see them, for he thought that all Rose-Bushes had been eaten up; but before he could say a word, they told him their troubles. Nanahboozhoo listened, and, after talking things over with the Rose-Bushes, he gave them a lot of small, thorn like prickles to cover their branches and stems close up to the flowers, so that the animals would not be able to eat them. After that Nanahboozhoo sent the Rose-Bushes to their home, on the back of the wind. And ever since that day all Wild Roses have had many thorns. What is your experience with roses? Do you suit up, or wing it and get pricked? And how many of you remember Morticia? (You can claim the later version if you don’t want to reveal your age.) #coraramos #paranormal #legends
Discover how you can protect your home using natural, decorative barriers made from thorny bushes like Crown of Thorns and Chinese Flowering Quince.
The colour of this rose varies from lilac to soft lilac-pink, according to the weather conditions. The neatly cupped flowers are quite large and are well filled with petals. There is an Old Rose fragrance with aspects of lilac and almond blossom. It forms an upright shrub with bushy, thorny growth and typical Old Rose foliage. David Austin, 1988.
Extremely vigorous, award-winning Rosa filipes 'Kiftsgate' is a fast-growing, large rambler rose with huge sprays of highly fragrant, semi-double, creamy-white flowers
Matthew 13: 7. “And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them.” It’s a funny thing about thorns, or weeds. They tend to take on the characteristics of the…
Discover how you can protect your home using natural, decorative barriers made from thorny bushes like Crown of Thorns and Chinese Flowering Quince.
When it comes to heritage roses, Brookhaven garden on the outskirts of Deloraine in northern Tasmania, has them in abundance. Planting started at Brookhaven some 14 years ago with the clearing of a hillside of gorse.
Discover how you can protect your home using natural, decorative barriers made from thorny bushes like Crown of Thorns and Chinese Flowering Quince.
Simply stunning. This wallpaper features a sophisticated thorny vine of white roses that almost look like cotton plants on your walls!
In her weekly column Thorny Problems Helen Yemm helps with your gardening dilemmas
Iran’s annual celebration of its signature flower makes this desert region fragrant.
From the archive: Vita Sackville-West sings the praises of sweet-briar
This is a tough evergreen shrub with pendent flowers that provide a delightful gardenia-like perfume during October and November.
Those woody plants that scratch and pierce our skin when hiking are often called some pretty colorful things by people. I will avoid such language, and describe exactly what they are running into. These "thorns" of Autumn Olive, Elaeagnus umbellata, are often referred to as branching spurs. This means they are not true thorns, just sharp twigs. Wild Crabapple, Pyrus coronaria, is another plant with what we call "false thorns". If you feel a thorn that is bumpy, then it's just a pointed twig. Thorns will be smooth. American Holly, Ilex opaca, is often described as having thorny leaves. They are not thorns, but spines along the leaf margin. Another group of thorny plants are the Rubus. This is Raspberry. All of our plants around here have this white glaucous coating, so you don't even need to look at the thorns for identification. Other piercing Rubus plants are the Blackberries. If you cut the twig and look at the cross section, they are star shaped. Blackberries have five sided twigs. Blackberry and Raspberry are also plants that don't have true thorns. They are called prickles. So what is the difference? Generally speaking, prickles are just outward growths of the bark. True thorns are different tissue that grows out from under the bark. Spines are usually associated in some manner with leaves. Who hasn't experienced some of the worst prickles of all. These curved fish hooks or shark fins belong to the notorious Multi-flora Rose, Rosa multiflora. Our native roses can be just as detrimental. Swamp Rose for one, or in this example, the Climbing Rose, Rosa setigera. All portions may have tons of prickles. The problem with prickles versus thorns, is these have a bad habit of dislodging into your skin, ouch! The Wild or Carolina Rose, Rosa carolina, is more of a minor annoyance than a major pain. Look for this Rose in dry upland woods. It only grows 1-3 feet tall. In the upper portions, the prickles are paired. In the lower parts they are thin and bristly. Most often they are colored white. Greenbrier vines also have prickles rather than thorns. This is Sawbrier, Smilax rotundifolia. Sawbrier has square twigs and multicolored prickles that often look like candy corn. Sawbrier prickles are stiff and rigid and will pierce your clothes. This plant can climb on itself and form shrub like thickets. Avoid the "brier patch". (Brier can be spelled with an a as well as e). A second species of Smilax is Glaucous Greenbrier, Smilax glauca. The twigs are round and more brownish green than Sawbrier. The prickles are more uniform in color, and more numerous at the bottom of the plant. The twigs may or may not have a white coating in winter. Our third woody species is Bristly Greenbrier, Smilax tamnoides (hispida). It only takes a second to see the main character for identification. The upper portions of the plant may be completely thornless, but look on down to the base. I mentioned Glaucous may have the majority of its prickles at the bottom, and they may be all black, but they are all the same size. Bristly has black "needles" of all different sizes. If you thought Bristly looked intimidating, this is even worse. These are actual thorns growing up the stem of Gooseberry or Currant. This was taken on a spring morning in Iowa. The forest understories are covered with Gooseberry out there. This is probably Prickly Gooseberry Ribes cynosbati. Gooseberry fruits are very edible. The fruit on this species is spiny, making harvesting a bit tricky. In the past, people raising White Pine removed all Gooseberries from an area because it spreads a fungus rust that kills the trees. While there are always exceptions, those Ribes called Gooseberries usually have thorns, and those called Currants are thornless. Looking at the stems of this plant, it is similar to Bristly Greenbrier. The leaves though look more like a Locust. Let's try Bristly Locust, Robinia hispida. The red thorns here are actually hairs, and they extend up even onto the flowers. There are sharp spines between the leaflets. Bristly Locust is a southern species often planted in Ohio as an ornamental. Robinia pseudoacacia, the Black Locust, is the more common species in our area. The twigs are hairless, but each node contains short paired thorns. Again, technically they're spines. Less frequently seen in our area is a Black Locust look-a-like. With short paired thorns and compound leaves, it may be overlooked. This is Northern Prickly-ash, Zanthoxylum americanum. One way to separate it from Locust is to look between the leaflets. They have a spiny rachis. Up close the buds are fuzzy and bright red. It's also called the Toothache Tree. Like aspirin, it is said if you cut a slice of the bark or thorns, it deadens pain in the mouth. Personally I'd use the bark, but I don't think I'd put a thorn in my mouth. There are so many varieties in this group, the thorns can be long or short, straight or curved. Either way, these belong to the Hawthorn, Crataegus spp. I don't really try to figure out which are which. No matter what the keys say, many of these turn out to be genetically the same species. These round red buds remind you what your finger tips will look like if you get jabbed by a Hawthorn. Japanese Barberry, Berberis thunbergii. Its bright red fruit make this an attractive ornamental, but is has escaped and become highly invasive. The leaves are small and spoon shaped. They grow out in clusters, though the plant is actually alternate. The long skinny projections are referred to as thorns, prickles, or spines. The literature is split on what to really call them. I lean towards spines. To be sure you have a Barberry, take your knife and scrape the bark. The inner portions are a bright neon yellow. A favorite of mine is Aralia spinosa. Sometimes called Hercule's Club, I much prefer the other common name, the Devil's Walking Stick. The thorns, which again are really prickles, often come out in a circular pattern, much like the Statue of Liberty Crown. In our area, look for it in the Hocking Hills region. Elvis has left the building. So who is the current king? Without a doubt it has to be Honey Locust, Gleditsia triacanthos. Not only does it have thorns on the branches and trunk, but the thorns have thorns! They are multi-branching, and I have measured some 18 inches long. This is not something you want to get impaled upon. I tell students to remember the latin name tri-acanthos by looking at the young thorns, they are branched into threes. They start out looking purple-red, and darken with age. I've also told students the thorns are toxic. My choice of words may be misleading. They don't contain a liquid toxin or poison. The thorns may be covered in dirt or bacteria. These thorns are longer and more rigid than any of the other species mentioned. So when they pierce the skin, the wound is larger and deeper. It not only affects the skin, but can irritate the nerves. Major swelling can occur and last a week. Anti-inflammatories may be needed. Honey Locust thorns have been used historically as sewing needles and fish hooks. The pea pods are sweet and edible when they first come out, not so later in the season. Black Locust pods on the other hand ARE poisonous. Don't eat those. At the risk of bursting your bubble again, Honey Locust thorns are not thorns at all, but spines.
Easy Going has delightful, cupped 4-5" blooms with 30+ petals of golden yellow with apricot to peach shading. Her flowers have a mild honey fragrance and will bloom repeatedly throughout the season against glossy, medium green foliage. She is a beautiful rose for zones 5-10.
Every plant in Africa seemed to have thorns.
The White Ramanus Rose or Rosa rugosa 'Alba' White produces large fragrant white flowers with golden yellow centres during the summer and boasts big red rose hips and butter yellow autumn colour. Best Features: Red rose hips, wildlife-friendly, white summer flowers Ideal For Hedges: 1-2m high Growth Rate: Average | 20-40cm a year Position: Sunny or full shade, exposed coastal (it's very good at the coast) or inland, dry to moist soil Also Consider: Pink Ramanas Rose (Rosa rugosa) or the native Dog Rose (Rosa canina)
This beautiful little rose has all the good characteristics of a Scottish Rose, but flowers almost continually. The fully double flowers are a lovely shade of fresh blush pink. The petals are loosely arranged to form pretty little rosettes, each about 1.5 across. There is a medium-strong Old Rose fragrance. It has small leaves and thorny, bushy growth. David Austin, 2002.
There are few things on this Earth more breathtaking than the beauty of a pink climbing rose adorning the side […]
A David Austin rose in the north garden.
Creamy light apricot petals are perfect for a rose named for the iconic Marilyn. These soft roses are a vigorous producer in warm climates all season long. Be careful though, Marilyn is a thorny lady. Details (WEKsunspat) Size: 5 gallon potted Type: Hybrid Tea Color: Light Peach Fragrance: Mild Height: 4-6 feet Spread: 3-4 feet Suitable Zones: 6-10 Pot/Plant Dimensions*: 24in x 18in x 36in *Please note, dimensions listed are approximate as each individual rose size varies. Please use as a guide only to help you plan transportation and vehicles/trailers for picking-up your order rose.
Roses are divided into 150 or so species, some of which have been garden plants for many centuries.
