Rosa Canina

Dedekind

Hello

I have what I think is a rosa canina. I inherited it and feel it has been here for many years. 

I vaguely remember it last year flowering only a little bit, very sparsely, just a few flowers. It was big and I cut it back hard late winter, only left one cane about 1m high and the rest more like 20-30cm high. 

It has grown again quite vigorously and big and is now 2m tall and 1m wide with dense foliage. It has absolutely no flowers or buds. There were many aphids a few weeks ago but now they are gone. 

My question is, should I expect it to flower? I am thinking about actually removing it and putting it somewhere else as it is taking a rather interesting spot on the garden. 

Mr. Vine Eye

I imagine that as a once flowering rose - it flowers on old growth from the previous year, like a bramble. So by cutting it right back you'll have stopped it from flowering. It might flower this year.

I personally wouldn't keep one if it was taking up main space. They're good for growing through hedges for wildlife benefit but not as a main feature in a garden.

Dovefromabove

Rosa canina flowers for about two weeks at most,  in June … by tradition the first blooms signal 6 weeks to go to the beginning of harvest, so the farmers start getting the harvesting equipment and barns ready. 

The flowers make the rural hedgerows look gorgeous for a few days, as do the hips in the autumn … but it gives a very scant reward to the gardener … there are much more floriferous pink single roses available from the breeders nowadays.