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Rosa rugosa hedge

AndyDeanAndyDean Posts: 157
in Plants
I'm thinking of planting a rosa rugosa alba hedge this autumn/winter. The soil is shallow and poor, and it's pretty windy, and I understand rugosas can cope with these conditions. I should be able to raise the level of the bed a few inches so the soil is deeper, but it's never going to be wonderful growing conditions, especially with the wind.

Does anyone have any experience of a rugosa hedge? I'm worried they might not be dense enough, as I've seen them be a bit leggy and sprawling before now. As well as being attractive and a good habitat, I'm wanting a wind break to shelter the rest of the garden a bit!

Thank you!
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  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    edited September 2018
    I do, unfortunately!  It self seeded here years ago and pops up everywhere, can’t get rid of it, I’ve resorted to glyphosate in some places, which I hate using, it hasn’t worked by the way😀
    I cut it down to the ground in late winter,  needs pruning like any other rose.  It will make tons of growth by the summer.

    I don’t know about ‘good habitat’?  Nothing nests in it here and I’ve never seen birds eating the hips.
     There’s probably better hedges. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    I agree with Lyn. Its an absolute thug in my garden. Suckers everywhere and flops about. Positives are that bees and hoverflies love the flowers and the hips are very pretty. I have never seen anything eating the hips either. I wish I had never planted it.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I planted a rosa rugosa hedge in a windy spot and it hated it.  Grew manky, lots of dead stems, poor foliage, sporadic flowers and it suckered all over trying to find a better spot.   Ended up digging it all out.  
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Thats exactly what’s happening to my Hansa RR, Obelixx, planted in good soil at the neglected end of a long border to fill a gap, very poor foliage, scraggy, dying canes etc. I also planted a hedge of RR Alba in poor clay soil, improved a bit, where they had space to romp, but all but one of them died. Don’t know what I did wrong, if anything...

    I agree there are better hedges and I am sure one to suit windy conditions....
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • AndyDeanAndyDean Posts: 157
    Right, glad I asked!

    I'll do some more research...

    Thank you for your advice  :)
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    What about yew?  It might need some wind protection while it's little but a simple cane or mesh strip will deal with that and then it's eminently clippable and copes with poor soils as long as it's not got wet feet.   Whatever you plant it's a good idea to beef up the soil with some well rotted compost and/or manure and some BF&B or pelleted chicken manure.

    Beech is another possibility, or hornbeam or photinia Red Robin.   What are your criteria for size/colour etc?
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • AndyDeanAndyDean Posts: 157
    I'd love to grow yew, it's wonderful, but I have small children, and have built raised beds adjacent to where I want to put the hedge in which I grow fruit and veg, so don't want to risk them poisoning themselves...

    I will beef up the soil as much as I can, I have access to plenty of manure so should be able to put a load of that down.

    I really like beech and hornbeam, one of those is definitely a possibility. I'm aiming to keep it at around 1-1.2m high. I think green foliage will work better than red where we are, as it's a new build estate and there's not loads of green around but plenty of new red bricks!
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    edited September 2018
    Have a look at Elaeagnus × submacrophylla. Classic hedge for a windy site. Doesn't mind fairly poor soil but not too good on chalk, I think. Best hedge for wildlife is hawthorn.
    A good option for a really good wildlife hedge is to have a mixture of three or four tree species (so, hawthorn, hazel, beech and eleagnus, say) with some climbers in amongst, like ivy, wild honeysuckle and briar roses. 
    I would advise against blackthorn - it's just too thorny in the sort of position you want it, close to where you will be working. But hawthorn is much less prickly.

    ETA I have a mix of elder and rosa rugosa making a very effective windbreak. I love the scent of the rugosas, so I accept the downsides. They sucker a bit, but so far haven't got out of the (quite large) space I have for them.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    In my experience, a happy hawthorn grows 6' a year so perhaps not a good idea there.  Beech and hornbeam can both be kept narrow thus leaving space for the fruit and veg and no thorns but you can also grow pyracantha as a hedge.  It's evergreen, has blossom for nectar and berries for birds and provides good wildlife habitat.  It does have thorns but not too bad and it responds to pruning.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • ZeroZero1ZeroZero1 Posts: 577
    I have copper beech hedge here its very handsome. A really good backdrop to the greenery. I cut it once or sometimes twice a year. Mine is 15ft tall in places. 
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