Rosa villosa L.

RHS Plant Profile
apple rose

Save a plant

Where do you want to save Rosa villosa L.?

Plants I own
Wishlist
Go to My Plants

Other common names

shaggy-fruited rose

Synonyms

Rosa pomifera

Plants for pollinators
Roses
Buy this from Plant Nurseries
3 Suppliers

A vigorous species shrub rose about 1.8m tall, with lightly aromatic, grey-green downy leaves, and bearing fragrant, single blooms of clear pink to 5cm across, opening from carmine buds, once-flowering in summer, then followed in early autumn by large, apple-shaped, bristly crimson fruits (hips)

Position

Full sun, Partial shade

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

1.5-2.5 metres

Max Spread

1-1.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
2–5 years
Max Spread
1-1.5 metres
Max Height
1.5-2.5 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Clay Loam Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained or Well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun Partial shade
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing or East–facing or North–facing
Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H6

Colour & Scent

Fragrance Flower Foliage
Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Rosaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
Yes
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Bushy
Potentially harmful
Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling
Genus
Rosa can be deciduous or semi-evergreen shrubs or scrambling climbers, with usually thorny stems bearing compound pinnate leaves and solitary or clustered flowers. Flowers may be followed by showy red or purple fruits in some varieties.
Name Status
Correct

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in full sun or part shade and moderately fertile, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil. For best flowering apply a balanced fertiliser and mulch in late winter or early spring and a balanced fertiliser again in early summer. Good for a woodland or wild garden. See rose cultivation for further advice

Propagation

Propagate by softwood cuttings in early to mid spring, hardwood cuttings in late summer to autumn or by chip budding in summer

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Cut flowers
  • Flower borders and beds
  • Hedging and screens

Pruning

See pruning group 20 (shrub roses), do not deadhead flowers if fruits (hips) are required

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, rose leafhopper, glasshouse red spider mite, scale insects, caterpillars, large rose sawfly, rose slugworm sawfly and rose leaf-rolling sawfly. Deer and rabbits can cause damage

Diseases

May be susceptible to rose black spot, rose rust, replant disease, rose dieback, and rose powdery mildew and sometimes honey fungus. May also be susceptible to disorders rose blindness and flower balling