Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. A rose I thought was native that’s blooming now, I’ve always heard it called Cherokee Rose. Now I find out that this single white, high climbing rose, with the scientific name Rosa laevigata, is exotic, not native, and in some places considered invasive. Jonathan Windham, a specialist at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence, who provides information on genetically modified organisms, is also a rose enthusiast. He has a collection of roses he is using for breeding purposes that includes roses that are native to our area. Rosa palustris, swamp rose, can grow in areas that are moist, even occasionally inundated by water. Rosa caroliniana or pasture rose grows in drier places. Both produce lots of pollen, not much nectar, to attract insects and are almost disease-free. Some nurseries offer them in wildlife packages to provide shelter and food for animals.
Roses in Bloom
