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Rosa carolina

Carolina Rose · Pasture Rose

Family RosaceaeGenus Rosa

Two pink five-petalled roses with broad yellow centers of stamens, among leaves divided into sharply toothed leaflets.
FlowerD. Gordon E. RobertsonCC BY-SA 3.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

The plant

Habit
ShrubExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Habit
subshrub or shrubPlants of the World Online
Height
0.5-5 ft0.2-1.5 mExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Spread
1-5 ft0.3-1.5 mExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Flower
Pink, WhiteExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Blooms
Spring, SummerExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Native range
Canada, lower 48 statesPLANTS Database
Hardiness zones
4-9Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

Growing conditions

Sun
Full sun; Partial ShadeExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Soil
Clay, Loam (Silt), Sand, Shallow RockyExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Soil pH
4.0-7.0PLANTS Database
Moisture
Good Drainage, Moist, Occasionally Dry, Very DryExtension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Watering
Drought tolerance: HighPLANTS Database

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — NC State Extension; Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS.

Worth knowing

  • The Carolina rose is common across eastern North America, from thickets and open woods to roadsides and railway lines. Its hips are edible but very tart, and it attracts several kinds of bees and gives them nesting material. Wikipedia: Rosa carolina

This source reports three treatments. All are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1996

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around September 30, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on September 29, 2026.

  1. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  2. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  3. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  4. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  5. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

    26 germinated in this phase.

  6. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  7. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

    1 germinated in this phase.

Steps after step 3 run on after germination.

about 6 months from start to step 3. Germination happens during step 3, in 8 days.

60% germination in 2–8 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1996 · 1st Supplement, Rosa p. 71Public domain
Show the original text
Rosa (Rosaceae). Germination in the six species studied earlier and the following three extends over a number of cycles. Varying the time of each cycle from three months to other time periods should be tried. Recently two papers (H. Kuska, Rose Hybridizers News Letter^ 7 (1994) and Y. Yambe and K. Takeno, HortScience 27, 1018 (1992) have reported that germination is speeded up by treating the seeds with a variety of macerating enzymes. Since pericarp removal gave immediate germination, the results were interpreted to mean that the enzymes digested and opened the seed coat along the suture line where the seed coat is thinnest. Such interpretations are not in accord with my own experiments where puncturing the seed coat had no effect. Light was not expected to have any effect and was not tried, and GA-3 treatments were without effect. R. carolina germ. 40-70(18% in 2-4 d)-40-70(43% in 3-14 d)-40-70(12% on 4th d)-40-70(2%), 70-40-70(60% in 2-8 d)-40-70(26% on 2nd d)-40-70(1%), and 38% in April-May in OT.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement, 1st Supplement, Rosa p. 71. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1996

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around June 26, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on June 25, 2026.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  2. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

    18 germinated in this phase.

  3. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  4. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  5. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  6. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

    12 germinated in this phase.

  7. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  8. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

    2 germinated in this phase.

Steps after step 4 run on after germination.

about 9 months from start to step 4. Germination happens during step 4, in 14 days.

43% germination in 3–14 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1996 · 1st Supplement, Rosa p. 71Public domain
Show the original text
Rosa (Rosaceae). Germination in the six species studied earlier and the following three extends over a number of cycles. Varying the time of each cycle from three months to other time periods should be tried. Recently two papers (H. Kuska, Rose Hybridizers News Letter^ 7 (1994) and Y. Yambe and K. Takeno, HortScience 27, 1018 (1992) have reported that germination is speeded up by treating the seeds with a variety of macerating enzymes. Since pericarp removal gave immediate germination, the results were interpreted to mean that the enzymes digested and opened the seed coat along the suture line where the seed coat is thinnest. Such interpretations are not in accord with my own experiments where puncturing the seed coat had no effect. Light was not expected to have any effect and was not tried, and GA-3 treatments were without effect. R. carolina germ. 40-70(18% in 2-4 d)-40-70(43% in 3-14 d)-40-70(12% on 4th d)-40-70(2%), 70-40-70(60% in 2-8 d)-40-70(26% on 2nd d)-40-70(1%), and 38% in April-May in OT.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement, 1st Supplement, Rosa p. 71. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 3

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1996

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

  1. Sow outdoors and leave it

    Up in April-May.

No stated waiting before sowing.

38% germination.

This source doesn't state how long step 1 lasts.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1996 · 1st Supplement, Rosa p. 71Public domain
Show the original text
Rosa (Rosaceae). Germination in the six species studied earlier and the following three extends over a number of cycles. Varying the time of each cycle from three months to other time periods should be tried. Recently two papers (H. Kuska, Rose Hybridizers News Letter^ 7 (1994) and Y. Yambe and K. Takeno, HortScience 27, 1018 (1992) have reported that germination is speeded up by treating the seeds with a variety of macerating enzymes. Since pericarp removal gave immediate germination, the results were interpreted to mean that the enzymes digested and opened the seed coat along the suture line where the seed coat is thinnest. Such interpretations are not in accord with my own experiments where puncturing the seed coat had no effect. Light was not expected to have any effect and was not tried, and GA-3 treatments were without effect. R. carolina germ. 40-70(18% in 2-4 d)-40-70(43% in 3-14 d)-40-70(12% on 4th d)-40-70(2%), 70-40-70(60% in 2-8 d)-40-70(26% on 2nd d)-40-70(1%), and 38% in April-May in OT.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement, 1st Supplement, Rosa p. 71. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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