Unfortunately, they are not fragrant, despite anything to the contrary that you might read. They bloom, in my area, with Hall's honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica 'Halliana'), which is highly fragrant and makes up for their lack of scent.
New foliage is attractive, often red outlined, on well-armed stems. These plants can be either shrubs or climbers. In parts of my woods, they are small, thin, lax and weak from too much shade. In sun, they form large plants six to ten feet (2-3 m) tall and ten to fourteen feet (3-4 m) wide. Since they root if the stems touch ground, as well as seed copiously and send up shoots from shallow roots, they quickly form virtually impenetrable thickets if they get enough sun to be robust.
All rose leaves are pinnate (leaves along each side of a common axis or rachis). Multiflora roses have seven to nine leaflets less than one and a half inches (4.0 cm) long, with finely serrate edges.
Most roses have a pair of stipules (a green, leaf-like structure) at the base of the petiole (leaf stalk).
Those on the multiflora rose are one of the keys to identifying it because the margins are feathery or comb-like.
The comb-like appearance is clearer in this close-up.
Thorns Or Prickles
Prickle: A small, sharp outgrowth of the epidermis (the outer layer of stem tissue).
Thorn: A modified stem, always originating at a node, with nodes and internodes along the length of the thorn.
Multiflora rose stems are armed with two kinds of thorns. Some roses have all one type and some have different shapes. They can be straight or curve down or up - which is rare.
The shape, size, number and where they are located on the stems (they can occur in pairs or be randomly spaced) helps to identify a particular rose.
The most difficult to encounter are the hooked thorns, which seem to me to be mostly on older stems on the multiflora rose. They grab and don't easily let go.
Unless we are botanists, we speak of roses are as having thorns, but the correct term for them is prickles. Being accurate in this is not an easy task as my vision of a prickle is something small and almost soft until you hit the pointed end. However, I shall try to call them by their right name.
True thorns are like those that grow on citrus trees or Pyracantha shrubs. Roses can have their prickles at nodes (joints on a stem where a leaf or bud grows or grew) but they most often occur along the internode (between nodes). These prickles can be several shapes: flattened, nearly cylindrical, hooked or straight. They can also be colored, generally rose colored.
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