Woods’ Rose Tree Seeds | Common Wild Rose | (Rosa woodsii)

The wild rose of the mountain west. Tough, fragrant, and wildlife-essential.

Rosa woodsii, the Woods Rose, is the most widely distributed native rose in western North America, growing from the foothills of the Rockies to the Pacific Coast and from British Columbia south into Mexico, thriving in conditions ranging from dry mountain slopes to riparian thickets and forest edges. It produces fragrant pink flowers from late spring through summer that are among the most important early pollen sources for native bees in its range, followed by bright red rose hips in fall that persist through winter and feed grouse, deer, elk, bears, coyotes, and songbirds when other food is scarce. Thorny, spreading, and nearly impossible to kill once established, it forms the kind of dense, productive wildlife thicket that takes years to build any other way. If you are looking to buy Woods Rose seeds or grow this native western shrub from seed, this is the plant that turns a dry slope or disturbed site into habitat within a few years.

• Fragrant pink flowers in late spring and summer providing early-season pollen for native bees
• Bright red rose hips persisting through winter, a critical food source for wildlife in cold months
• Extremely drought-tolerant, thriving on dry rocky slopes where most shrubs fail to establish
• Spreads by root suckers to form dense, thorny thickets providing escape cover and nesting habitat
• Native across western North America, cold-hardy to zone 3

Things you probably did not know about the Woods Rose

The rose hips are among the highest natural sources of Vitamin C available. Rose hips contain more Vitamin C per gram than almost any other food, with concentrations 20 to 40 times higher than oranges. During World War II, when citrus imports to Britain were cut off, the British government organized a national rose hip collection program to make rose hip syrup as a Vitamin C supplement for children. Wild rose hips were collected by the ton from hedgerows across the country.

Indigenous peoples across western North America used every part of it. The petals were eaten fresh and dried. The hips were eaten raw, dried for winter storage, and boiled for tea and syrup. The leaves were used medicinally for stomach complaints. The thorny branches were used to make fish traps and barriers. The inner bark was used in smoking mixtures. Few plants were more fully integrated into daily life across the western mountain tribes.

It is one of the primary food plants for elk during winter. Elk browse the twigs and bark of Woods Rose extensively during winter when grass is unavailable. In areas with significant elk populations, Woods Rose thickets show heavy browse lines and are an important indicator of elk wintering habitat. The rose provides nutrition when snow covers other food sources.

The thorns evolved to deter browsing, not climbing. Rose thorns are technically prickles, outgrowths of the outer bark rather than true thorns, which means they can be broken off without damaging the stem beneath. They angle downward specifically to snag and discourage grazing animals from pulling branches through their mouths. The hooked shape that makes them so unpleasant to handle is precision engineering for deterrence.

Growing Details

• Botanical Name: Rosa woodsii
• Stratification: Required, 90 to 120 days cold moist stratification
• USDA Zones: 3 to 9
• Soil: Adaptable, tolerates poor, dry, rocky, or sandy soils
• Light: Full sun to partial shade
• Height: 3 to 6 feet
• Spread: Spreading by root suckers to form thickets
• Growth Rate: Moderate to fast once established

Plant it on a dry slope, along a fence line, or anywhere you want productive native cover that takes care of itself. The birds will find the hips in October and come back every year.