Rose hedge

gjautos

Has anyone ever grown a rosa canina or rugosa hedge? I'd like to grow one in my back garden to replace a fence but only want something 3-4 ft. My other option is quickthorn. I'd like something relatively thick. Any ideas if either of these would work? 

jonathan.cole

We have Rosa canina in the mixed native hedge we planted in late 2017. It has put on good growth but it doesn't seem to be naturally very hedgey. I probably wouldn't use it on its own because I am lazy about pruning. Works well in a mix though.

Dovefromabove

I’ve not grown a Rosa rugosa hedge but a friend had one ... it seems a very suitable candidate for an informal hedge around 4-6ft ... depending on how you trim it. 

gjautos

Thanks guys. Jonathan, i have looked at a mixed native hedge, a nursery fairly close to me, buckingham nurseries sell them. I was a bit worried about the different growing speeds and heights of so many plants? Also i want to keep it fairly thin.

Dovefromabove

Ah ... Rosa rugosa makes a thick bushy ebullient sort of hedge. 

gjautos

Thanks dovefromabove. I guess it depends on one's idea of thin. I'm after something no more than a couple of foot wide. Preferably a little informal and good for 

gjautos

Sorry should have said.  Good for wildlife. 

Lyn

This rugosa is the bane of my life, gardenwise. We never planted it but it's everywhere, late winter it’s cut right down to the ground and by summer it’s up and put out runners(I suppose) everywhere.  It comes up between other shrubs, I’ve tried poisoning it, digging it out it’s immune to everything. 
The flowers are nice, but it’s a PITA here. 
edited to add,  its very prickly, fine prickles all the way up the stems,  not like rose thorns.

Posy

I grow rugosa in a garden where survival is a challenge. It does sucker but is easy to control, unlike Lyn's. Every year I cut it right down and it shoots up to about 4ft and flowers and fruits vigorously. One thing it isn't, is thin. It makes a dense thicket that would be a good but untidy hedge. I can't imagine shaping or controlling it in the way you seem to want.

gjautos

Thank you for the responses. Perhaps I'll be better off with quickthorn then. I had a quickthorn hedge in our old garden and it was easy to grow and easy to contain! I wanted to try something different though. 

gjautos

Sorry. Yes you are correct. I want a thick (dense) hedge that is narrow. Sorry if I've confused people there!