Cherokee Rose

The Cherokee rose is a beautiful flower with a sad story behind it. Find out more about this historical plant.

Into the history books….

Also called the Rosa laevigata, this breed has been around almost as long as the United States. It was brought over from South Asia and grew in popularity, especially in the Southeast. It was said to have been introduced anywhere from 1759 to 1780. It soon lost the Asian name and was then called the Cherokee rose.

The legend behind this plant grew from the terrible Trail of Tears from Georgia to Oklahoma. The Cherokee people were forced to march, and the strain caused the mothers to cry. After the tribes prayed for a sign of strength, they saw that roses were growing in the spot where the tears had fallen. The white represents the tears themselves. The gold represents the stolen land and money from the tribal lands, and the seven leaves represent the seven tribes of the Cherokee.

However, in part to pay tribute to the tribes on the Trail of Tears, in 1916 Georgia made the Cherokee rose the state flower.

Beauty

The white and gold center of these plants are definitely unique. Its a climbing shrub that is said to be able to get up to 15 feet high. As a bush it gets up to around 5 feet tall. It has a lovely fragrance and large hips as well.

Gardening

Besides looking and smelling nice, this flower does quite well with minimal care. However, it is best suited for warmer, and temperate climates, similar to that seen in the southeastern U.S. It will bloom in the spring, with a second blooming possible in the fall. It also has some nasty thorns so definitely watch out for those!