When to plant and prune Rose (Species / Wild)
Rose (Species / Wild) flowers from late May to late June and the dates below cover planting, flowering and the pruning window.
Planting, flowering and pruning by region
Rose (Species / Wild) is grown to the calendar rather than to the frost, so the same dates apply across the whole UK and every region below reads the same. Where a plant’s timings do follow the frost, Plot shifts them from the Midlands and Lowland Wales baseline using Met Office average frost dates.
| Where you are | Plant | In flower | Prune |
|---|---|---|---|
| South West Coast and Cornwall | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
| South Coast and Channel | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
| Greater London (Urban Heat Island) | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
| South East and Home Counties | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
| East Anglia | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
| Midlands and Lowland Wales | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
| Wales and West Coast | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
| Northern England | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
| Scotland Lowlands and Central Belt | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
| Scotland Highlands and Islands | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
| Northern Ireland | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
| Channel Islands and Isle of Man | late October to late December | late May to late June | early August to late August |
Growing notes
Thorny, arching shrubs with single, often fragrant early summer flowers in one flush, followed by hips. Very attractive to pollinators, especially bees. Best in a wild or boundary planting where they can be left largely alone.
At a glance
- Spacing
- 180 cm between plants
- Eventual height
- 250 cm
- Eventual spread
- 250 cm
- Hardiness
- H6
- Sun
- Full
- Frost tender
- No
- Grows in a container
- No
- Balcony rating
- 1 out of 5
Pruning: what to avoid
These flower once, on wood made the previous year, so hard winter pruning removes the display. Do not deadhead them: the hips are the main second season of interest and feed birds into winter.
Pruning group
RHS pruning group 20 (shrub roses, single flush): very little pruning - after flowering remove dead, diseased or crossing wood and take out an old stem or two at the base if congested
Bare-root season
Bare-root stock is lifted and sold while dormant, from late October to late March. Container-grown plants can go in at other times of year, but bare-root is cheaper and establishes well.
What usually goes wrong
- black spot (usually cosmetic on species roses)
- suckering on own-root plants
Related guides
Timings cross-checked against RHS guidance for rose (species / wild).