Question
Can the Cherokee rose be found in the woods growing naturally or can it only be found at a nursery to plant as a landscape plant?

Answer
Cherokee Rose has a short blooming season in late March and April. The fruit is pear-shaped and bristly. It can occasionally be found growing along roadsides, in fence rows, and waste places in the Coastal Plains and Piedmont of the deep South. However the real name  is rosa laviagata and can be purchased at many nurseries. Buying it from a nursery means it could be grafted and this would stop all it suckers this rose likes to put out. It can take over your garden.