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Rosa laevigata
(rō’ za lē-vi-gā ’ta)

Cherokee Rose

The beautiful Cherokee Rose was declared the "floral emblem of the State of Georgia" on August 18, 1916. It is considered a native of Southern China, Formosa and Burma. However, botanists have debated since 1803, when André Michaux found it growing apparently wild in Cherokee County, whether it is also an American native.

The legend that surrounds the Cherokee Rose and the Trail of Tears (the forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation from Georgia to Oklahoma) is a moving tale. As the story goes, during the Trail of Tears the mothers of the fallen Cherokee grieved greatly. The Cherokee chiefs prayed for a sign to lift the spirits of the mothers. From that moment on, each time a mother’s tears hit the ground a beautiful flower grew in its place. The flower has waxy white representing the mothers’ tears, gold in the center representing the gold taken from the Cherokees, and seven leaves on each stem representing the seven Cherokee clans that walked the Trail of Tears.

Rosa laevigata is beautiful, indeed, and fully deserving of the romance of its history. The pure white flowers relatively glow against the luscious dark-green foliage. Normal flowering is in April-May, but under favorable conditions you may see a second flowering in the fall. Due to its dense growth pattern, this prolific climber is also used effectively as a hedge. Remember to give it plenty of room to grow as it can reach twenty feet tall and twenty feet wide. Ironically, the Cherokee Rose is cold sensitive to -3°F and may not do well in northernmost Georgia.