Rosa

This Korean rose grows naturally on stony hillsides and at the edges of forest in Korea, northern China and the Russian Far East. It is a close relation to the popular variety known in Finland as the midsummer rose (R. pimpinellifolia ‘Plena’), and its beautiful single flowers and delicate foliage meet the tastes of those who go in for wild roses. The flower colour can vary from white to pale red depending on the individual and the provenance. In autumn the species produces decorative orange-red hips and the leaves take on beautiful autumn colour before falling.

Rubrifolia is easy to distinguish from other roses due to the colour of the leaves and upper stems, which are reddish with an unusual bluish bloom. Previously the Latin name was Rosa rubrifolia, hence the common name in English.