WIld Rose Medicine

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may..."

It's officially rose season! As I drive down Fish Bay road here on Lopez Island, the roses seem to be everywhere on either side of me. Too bad getting them off the side of the road is not an option (assuming you don't want car exhaust on your rose medicine—yuck).

But many of us on the island have roses on our property or know of places we can gather some buds and flowers to make medicine with. Or if you don’t have time for all that, you can do like my niece and just love pop them in your mouth when you pass them by (for wild roses only). They are pretty tasty!

While I normally am not a big fan of wildcrafting due to concerns about sustainability, we have so much Nootka rose on the island that this would be one of the exceptions. If you also live somewhere where there are so many roses around that many find them a nuisance and fear they are taking over everything, then go for it!

Rose is probably best known as medicine for the emotional heart--for grief and emotional protection in particular. Some herbalists will actually harvest just the thorns of roses (and hawthorn--also in the rose family), and make a thorn tincture without any other part of the plant!

In the natural world, the thorns keep larger predators away and allow the smaller creatures to take shelter under the protection of the rose bush. Sometimes humans need to take shelter as well. For those of us with different wiring, especially those on the hypersensitive side, taking on some thorn power could be quite nice on occasion. There are definitely times it would help to have some thorns in this world…rose can be a potent ally in that regard.

But for some, that’s getting a little woo-woo. Let me assure you, however, that wild roses have some very practical applications as well. Like diarrhea! Definitely not woo-woo. Wild rose tincture, made from the flowers and buds, is my number #1 favorite for diarrhea due to it's delicious taste, effectiveness, and how easy it is to make it from the roses growing in my yard.

You do need higher doses of this tincture than you would with most other tinctures--a dose is more like a teaspoon up to a tablespoon, and can be repeated every 30 minutes or so in an acute situation if need be.

But it is quite effective. I once saw someone who had had diarrhea for more than 48 hours in the aftermath of COVID and was about to get medical attention (dehydration can become quite serious at that point). They tried some of my rose tincture and reported that within several minutes 'it was like someone finally turned the faucet off.'

It’s also so, so delicious. Maybe you just want to infuse some vodka for the flavor and make some fabulous cocktails this summer. Knock yourself out!
If you’re new to making tinctures, the internet is full of instructions for how to do so. The more you read on it, the more you will see there are many approaches to tincture making. Who is right? Which one is best? Well, I advise you play around with some of the different methods and see what works best for you.

Click here for a good place to start.
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This post is intended for educational purposes only and to share my personal experiences. Herbalists do not diagnose or treat any disease.