How to Manage Macartney Rose
Macartney rose, also known as “Cherokee rose”, “hedge” and “rose hedge”, presents severe management problems for livestock producers in Southeast Texas to the Middle Coastal Prairie. Imported from the Orient in the late 1800s as a hedge for fencing purposes, the plant has escaped and naturalized. It now occupies more than 500,000 acres of Texas rangeland.
This rose species forms dense stands that eliminate forage production and hinder livestock management. Macartney rose has some use as browse and for wildlife cover, but if it is allowed to establish excessive cover, the disadvantages greatly outweigh its limited merits.
Dense stands can be controlled somewhat by using herbicides, mechanical methods and prescribed burning, but no single method had been totally effective. The most successful approach to control Macartney rose is to implement an integrated system using several methods applied sequentially.
The plant is easiest to manage when there are low densities of single, small plants (disturbed or undisturbed). Here is a three-step method to control Macartney rose that is easy, inexpensive and environmentally responsible. It involves spraying a small but potent concentration of herbicide directly to each plant.
Using this Brush Busters method, you’ll be able to kill more than 7 of 10 plants you treat. Your results may vary with weather and other conditions.
This method for Macartney rose control was developed and approved by professionals with the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Service, both agencies of the Texas A&M System.