I love the look of a rose hedge! One of our neighbors has a stunning hedge of red roses dividing their house and the one next door. It looks great up against their white colonial-style house with black shutters—a fantastic, eye-catching focal point to the yard. Here are the 8 best roses for hedges.
It turns out the head-turning display is comprised of Double Red Simplicity roses. This series does well in zones 5 – 10, and the name says it all; these are easy to grow and floriferous.
Please read on for more on this outstanding shrub rose and others that make beautiful and low-maintenance hedges.
Best Roses for Hedges | How To Make A Rose Hedge?
It’s important to choose hedge rose bushes that require minimal care, offer good disease resistance, and are everblooming, meaning they bloom all the way until frost hits your area.
Roses make spectacular, flowering boundary hedges that can be pruned between 3 ft to over 7 ft in height.
First and foremost, choose a rose that will flourish in your growing zone. Place your rose bushes where they will get at least six to eight hours of sun each day. Morning light is preferred to afternoon sun for reducing disease-friendly circumstances.
Avoid planting your hedge in an area where rose bush roots must compete with roots of trees or large shrubs. Ideally, plant it in a place where there is open space on both sides to provide air circulation.
Spacing
Depending on the type, hedging roses should be spaced 18′′ to 3 feet apart. The hedge will fill out faster if the roses are placed closer together. Roses love the sun, won’t grow well in the shade, and do not like sitting in water. Plant roses on a raised bed if necessary to ensure good drainage.
Although it’s best for rose hedges to be established during the spring, they also can be planted in the early fall.
My Favorite Roses For Hedges
1. Simplicity Hedge Roses:
These are perfect for hedges as they are easy to grow, low maintenance, versatile and abundant. This series from Jackson & Perkins has been around for over 20 years. They come in crimson red, bright yellow, light lavender, and medium pink.
Our neighbors planted the Double Red variety for their breathtaking hedge (photo above). It’s named for its rich color and high bud count. The best feature may just be the superior resistance to mildew and rust that keeps the dark green, glossy foliage looking great even in humid and rainy climates.
2. David Austin Roses – English Roses:
These gorgeous roses are particularly effective choices for a hedge, producing a succession of fragrant blooms. Listed below are four of the best English Roses for hedging.
3. Harlow Carr Rose Hedge
A hardy tiny rose with the most exquisite bloom shape – shallow cups of pure rosy pink. These flowers keep their shape until the very end, with the odd petal falling back to provide a pleasant appearance. The plant has a bushy growth habit and matures into an elegantly rounded shrub with blooms that reach nearly to the ground level.
The juvenile leaf is bronze at first, then becomes green as it matures. A strong, pure “Old Rose” aroma has been characterized as smelling like rose-based cosmetics and fragrances.
4. Molineux:
This lovely and free flowering rose is a show-stopping, rich yellow color. An excellent rose for hedges, bedding, and borders. It flowers with exceptional continuity, has even upright growth, and has little or no disease issues.
A lovely Tea Rose scent with a musky undertone. At the Royal National Rose Society Trials, she won a Gold Medal, the President’s Trophy for the “Best New Rose of the Year,” and the Henry Edland Medal for the “Best Scented Rose.”
5. Sophy’s Rose:
Attractive light red colored flowers fade to deep pink in the sun. Excellent, short, bushy habit perfect for hedges to 3 ft. tall. The petals are small at the center, increasing by degrees until the outer petals are significant.
This high-yielding rose looks excellent in rose beds, shorter hedges, and at the front of a border. Extremely healthy and very hardy. Beautiful, elongated foliage and a light Tea Rose fragrance.
6. The Alnwick Rose:
Cup-shaped buds unfold to a deeply cupped bloom in a beautiful rich pink color. Later, the flower develops into a wide, full-petalled, shallow cup of a delicate pink that becomes paler at the margins. The flowers are stunning at all stages.
Cup-shaped buds unfold to a deeply cupped bloom in a beautiful rich pink color. Later, the flower develops into a wide, full-petalled, shallow cup of a delicate pink that becomes paler at the margins.
7. Knockout Roses:
This prevalent and disease-resistant landscape rose also makes a super easy hedge! Flowering continues all season long until the first killing frosts of fall. Black spot, powdery mildew, and other common rose ailments don’t touch this easy-care series.
I have three of the Double Knockout planted by our front door for a colorful entrance. I recommend cutting them back every year in early spring after the last threat of frost has passed for best performance.
They come in seven colors: Pink Knockout, Pink Double Knockout, Rainbow Knockout, Double Knockout, Sunny Knockout, Blushing Knockout, and original Knockout.
8. Rugosa Roses for dense rose hedges:
Rugged rugosa roses can survive in sandy or poor, dry soil. That makes it one of the best roses for hedges for me. A hedge of rugosa roses can also withstand salty air, making it well suited to the coastal home landscape.
This species of rose is popular as a thorny, dense rose hedge. They are very hardy and reliable but do not spray with chemicals. Rugosas respond well to pruning, so they can be kept smaller if desired.
One of my favorite rugosas for hedges is “F. J. Grootendorst,” which displays clusters of deep pinkish-purple blooms with frilled edges and a spicy fragrance.
These lovely blooms seem like fringed carnations. It flowers from June until frost and has crinkly, brilliant green leaves on a bushy, robust, erect shrub. In full sun or moderate shade, Grootendorst thrives in rich, wet, well-drained soil.
