How to design a bee-friendly wild rose garden that’s buzzing with life - top tips from Kew’s experts

Roses are often assumed to be good for bees, but this only holds true under specific conditions, according to horticultural experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. However, there are simple steps you can take to boost biodiversity at home, as insect populations have declined across the UK and globally in the past decadeⁱ. 

It all comes down to flower shape – whether a bloom is open enough to expose its stamens for pollen collection, and, to a lesser extent, nectar. When petals become densely layered, those rewards are effectively hidden, preventing bees from accessing them.  

Many modern roses fall into this latter category, making them a less-than-ideal choice to plant in your garden if your goal is to boost local pollinator health. Wild roses and near-wild roses, on the other hand, tend to be a much better choice as they feature open flower structures – traits that haven’t been bred out of them through decades of careful cultivation. 

Charles Shi, Botanical Horticulturist  at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, says: ‘If you can’t see the pollen, bees can’t use it. It’s vital that bees have unobstructed access to the central parts of a flower, because what matters most to them is nutrition. Nectar provides energy, but it’s the pollen that carries real value.  

‘Pollen contains proteins, lipids, amino acids and crucial plant sterols, which bees cannot produce themselves. These must be gathered from a range of plants, each offering a different nutritional profile.’ 

Bees are generalist feeders, meaning they assemble a balanced diet through diversity rather than specialisation. This, in turn, means there isn’t one ‘best’ rose you can plant to support your local pollinators, but with a bit of careful planning and species selection, you too can have a bee-utiful garden that supports a healthy ecosystem.   

Which species should you plant to support bees?  

The best time to plant roses is during the dormant season, from late autumn through to early spring, when bare-root plants establish quickly and with less stress. Container-grown roses can be planted year-round, but avoiding periods of drought or frost will give them the best start. 

Some of the most reliable bee-friendly species include: 

• Rosa rugosa: Boasts accessible flowers and produces a substantial amount of pollen over relatively long periods.
• Rosa canina and Rosa multiflora: Both provide reliable early and mid-season forage.
• Rosa moyesii and Rosa × odorata ‘Mutabilis’: Help extend flowering later into the season, with simple, open blooms that remain accessible to pollinators. ‘Mutabilis’ is particularly valuable for its long flowering period, often producing multiple flushes. 

Even certain modern rose shrubs can contribute to a bee-friendly garden, provided their flowers remain simple. The common thread is combining accessibility with flowering duration. 

Charles says: ‘Flowering time is just as important as the flower form. A short, intense flush, however generous, is less useful than a sequence that carries through the season. Ideally, there is something in flower from late spring into autumn, with different plants taking over as others fade.  

‘Roses can contribute to this, but they cannot do it alone. They need to sit within a broader planting scheme that includes trees, perennials, and later flowering species.  

‘Otherwise, there are inevitable gaps, and bees don’t cope well with gaps in flowering.’ 

It’s not just what you plant, but how those roses occupy space. Some hold their flowers within easy reach, while others present them outwards on arching stems, and climbers push resources into entirely different layers of the garden.  

At ground and shrub level, different forms support different types of foraging: 

• Rosa palustris: Thrives in damper ground and carries its flowers at a height suited to many solitary bees moving through mixed planting.
• Rosa moyesii: Has an arching habit and places blooms slightly away from the centre of the plant, making it more visible and easier to approach.
• Rosa willmottiae: This more open shrub allows smaller bees to move and land without obstruction.
• Rosa bracteata: Creates dense, ground level patches that are efficient for shorter ranging foragers.  

Toss some climbing roses into the mix to add another dimension to your garden. These aren’t just decorative choices but expand the available feeding space, particularly for larger bees more comfortable foraging at height: 

• Rosa laevigata and Rosa helenae: Introduce foliage higher up, whether over structures or into surrounding trees.
• Rosa filipes: A vigorous climber that carries large numbers of simple, open flowers, making it particularly useful for providing forage at height.
• All these habitats combined can make for a garden that is more varied and more usable for bees. But roses just on their own aren’t a silver bullet approach to pollinator-friendly planting and must be part of a wider system.  

Charles says: ‘A garden that works best for bees is built around continuity and variation. The question isn’t which rose is ‘best’ for bees, but how roses fit into a wider, continuous supply of forage. 

‘Get that right, and even a small space can function well for bees. And if you’re ever in need of some practical inspiration or want to see this advice in action, come visit the Wild Rose Garden at Kew.’ 

ENDS