The Latin of it is, as usual, very beautiful in its syllables: Rosa sericea pteracantha. (Latin is a language conspicuously lacking in jarring syllables such as 'g', 'j' or 'k.')
Now this tall rose is a wild (or species) rose from China and you will need a big garden for it. It is grown mainly for the beauty of its huge, blood-red, young prickles - broad at the base where they attach to the stem.
But also it is one of the earliest roses to flower - flowering just after the wild yellow roses such as Rosa hugonis (also from China). It's flowers are pure white and it is unique amongst roses, for its single flowers commonly contain only four petals instead of the usual five.
The foliage is dainty and fern-like (the 'sericea' in its name refers to the silky undersides of the leaves).
Now, in early August, I can see all the small, orange, round hips decorating its layered limbs. Roses with the fewest petals are the most fertile; this is because the pollinating insects can easily access the reproductive parts at the centre of the flower.
But you have to decide: if you want the red prickles to predominate then prune it in the dead of winter. But if you want its flowers and hips to take precedence then prune it after flowering; it is so early into flower that it will flower next year on the stems it makes this year.
Now this tall rose is a wild (or species) rose from China and you will need a big garden for it. It is grown mainly for the beauty of its huge, blood-red, young prickles - broad at the base where they attach to the stem.
But also it is one of the earliest roses to flower - flowering just after the wild yellow roses such as Rosa hugonis (also from China). It's flowers are pure white and it is unique amongst roses, for its single flowers commonly contain only four petals instead of the usual five.
The foliage is dainty and fern-like (the 'sericea' in its name refers to the silky undersides of the leaves).
Now, in early August, I can see all the small, orange, round hips decorating its layered limbs. Roses with the fewest petals are the most fertile; this is because the pollinating insects can easily access the reproductive parts at the centre of the flower.
But you have to decide: if you want the red prickles to predominate then prune it in the dead of winter. But if you want its flowers and hips to take precedence then prune it after flowering; it is so early into flower that it will flower next year on the stems it makes this year.