October’s Native Maryland Plant
Rosa palustris
(ROE-zuh pal-US-tris )
Common Name: Swamp Rose
Last year the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC) declared October as riparian buffer month¹ - a month to “build awareness and familiarity of forested riparian buffers”, land features that are vital to the health of the Chesapeake Bay. As such, I highlighted Salix nigra, a keystone tree often found on buffers, stabilizing embankments, and providing valuable shade and much-needed habitat. This year I feature Rosa palustris, a tall, thorny shrub with pale pink blooms; it grows naturally in forested wetlands, along streambanks as well as along wet edges of a home landscape.
This native rose has unusual height, a lovely fragrance, and can be planted in moist-wet areas of a property; it tolerates poor drainage as well as minor flooding and has easily withstood the traffic, dog walkers (look at its thorns below) and swampy conditions at the end of my driveway. It’s an aggressive suckering shrub that quickly filled in an area where numerous other plants succumbed to these somewhat harsh conditions; its spreading behavior is kept in check by the road and the lawn that it borders.
This rose is often found in Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) swamps, it does best in slightly acidic soil, and will bloom best in full to part-sun. It is mainly pollinated by bumble bees but will be visited by many insects seeking pollen (no nectar). Its fleshy rose hips develop soon after the blooms fade and are eaten by bluebirds, northern cardinals, and cedar waxwings. If necessary, it can be pruned in early spring as new growth begins, allowing birds ample time to feast on its nutritious berries while still producing blooms.
Creating riparian buffers using native plants is just one way to improve the health of the Bay. At times like this, when the Chesapeake Bay is suffering from intense human activity, we’d all do well to practice more beneficial behaviors and abide by something novelist George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) said, “It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses.” In other words, the roses (or riparian buffers) won’t plant themselves – we must get busy and plant them if we are to realize their benefits. Let’s get busy Watershed Stewards! Find a place this month or next to plant Rosa palustris, Salix nigra, Taxodium distichum (on the Tree Trooper resilient species list), or many other excellent natives². - only then should we expect the health of our waterways to improve.
1 https://www.allianceforthebay.org/2021/10/celebrate-riparian-buffer-month/
2 http://ccrm.vims.edu/livingshorelines/documents/SaltTolerantPlants.pdf
Alison Milligan – Mstr Gardener/Mstr Naturalist /Mstr Watershed Steward
Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP)/AA County Tree Trooper