Category Archives: beach plum

Beach roses are in bloom again…

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and are already almost past their prime. They began blooming in my area just last week and yet most of the ones I saw yesterday are already fading and losing petals! That doesn’t seem quite fair, does it? We wait all year for them and then, boom! Bloomed and gone….

Actually the beach rose, officially known as the Rosa rugosa, is not a native to our shores though it has certainly adapted to living here. It is also on almost every promotional piece related to Cape Cod so one could say we’ve certainly adopted it as well.

I hope you have a chance to walk by these wonderful bushes this week at a beach near you and take in the summery scent of these delicious smelling flowers that begin the days of summer even before the calendar says it’s here.

And no, Rosa rugosa isn’t the beach plum, even though the fat orange hips often get called beach plums. Here is a picture of a blooming beach plum shrub–beach plums were in bloom several weeks ago and as you can see in the picture, they have many tiny white blossoms….

Beach Plum in Bloom

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Just about everywhere on Cape Cod right now, including along many parts of the middle strip of Rt. 6, you may be seeing rambling bushes full of fluffy white flowers. Not to be confused with the leggier, taller and much less compact shad bush, these bushes are usually quite compact and just jammed with flowers.They almost look like cotton balls got stuck on them when you see them from the distance.
Beach plum is a hardy plant that seems to thrive in poor, sandy soil. They grow along the sides of marshes, woodlands, in shore side fields and even along the roadside. After the flowers fade they will set fruit and by August they will have tons of little ripe purple plums that usually end up in one of Cape Cod’s favorite trademark jellies. That is if the birds, foxes and other animals don’t eat them first.

The beach plum is often confused with the rosa rugosa or beach rose because of the big orange red fruits that set after the roses bloom. Those, however, are rose hips and that’s a whole other story.

Cape Cod Beaches

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are especially wonderful on sunny spring afternoons. These shots are from Long Beach in Centerville.

Piping plovers are on their nests and watching warily as people pass by. Horseshoe crabs are beginning to lay their eggs. Beach plum is nearing the end of its bloom while rosa rugosa is just beginning hers. Willets are nesting in area salt marshes and feeding along the edge….

Every beach is busy now with birds and other animals either nesting or preparing to nest. It’s a great time of year to go exploring before the summer crowds set in.