Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:27 pm
Many people immediately think of a hedge as a property boundary. Conifers, such as the yew or thuja, are especially well known as hedge plants, although a tall evergreen hedge on often think of the cherry laurel. However, there are many different varieties of hedges that can be used for different purposes. Today we want to look a little closer at the roses as a hedge.
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The function of roses
Roses are expected mainly in a wonderful bouquet of flowers, so when you think of roses, you do not immediately think of a hedge, although rose bushes are quite suitable for hedges. In our online catalog, we offer two different varieties of roses: the potato rose (or apple rose) and the hedge rose. Both varieties can grow between 150-200 cm high, and they also shed their leaves in winter. Therefore, they are not suitable for privacy hedges. Because of their growth habit, they are best used as an informal hedge because tight, formal pruning would ruin the special charm of these plants.
Roses as hedges have two major advantages. First, of course, they look quite wonderful. But the reason roses are so often used in bouquets is also due to their beauty and wonderful fragrance. Although the flowers of the rose bushes from our online catalog do not have a typical curled-up shape that is often found in flower stores when you buy individual roses, the colorful appearance of our hedge plant flowers is just as sensual an experience as the wonderful fragrance of the rose flowers. In addition, both varieties of roses can be used to make tea and jam.
There is a saying in English: ‘every rose has its thorn’, which of course applies to these two rose varieties as well. Although the potato rose and the dog rose both look quite wonderful, they also both have particularly sharp thorns that can turn your hedge into a pretty, burglar-proof hedge. Intruders will therefore think twice about climbing through your rose bush or not. Both rose varieties can therefore work well as a garden border or planted under a window to prevent intrusion into your garden or home. However, this feature can also make a rose bush or rose hedge a danger to children and pets.
Our varieties of roses
So far we have always mentioned the potato rose and the dog rose at the same time, although these are two different plant varieties, and therefore have quite different characteristics. The dog rose is a native plant, often found in the Benelux countries, but also in other parts of Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. In the past, rose hips were thought to have a healing effect, which was used to treat rabies, among other things. However, rose hips were also often used to treat coughs and digestive problems. The dog rose has light pink to white flowers with a yellow center.
The potato rose has a similar growth habit to the dog rose, although you can also spot different details on it. The potato rose has bright pink flowers instead of the white flowers that dog roses have. Also, the rose hips of the potato rose have a slightly different color and shape. In addition, the leaves of the potato rose are slightly wider and lighter in color than the leaves of the dog rose. The potato rose originates from Japan. This might make you think that these are exotic plants. However, because the Japanese climate is very similar to the climate in Europe, many Japanese plants can also grow quite wonderfully in European gardens. Therefore, this also applies to the potato rose.
Although this shrub is not from the Rosae family, the finger shrub family is still part of the rose family, so the finger shrub should also be mentioned in this blog. The finger shrub is also a wonderful flowering hedge plant, just like other rose varieties in our online selection. However, because the foxglove does not have thorns, it cannot be used as a burglar-resistant hedge. If you are looking for hedge plants for a garden where many children and pets play, and if you want these hedge plants to look like roses, then the finger shrub is therefore a good solution. Because this plant has different varieties, it is also available in different colors of flowers.
When should you plant roses in the garden?
As already said, rose bushes are not suitable for every hedge variety. The hedge rose and the potato rose can grow no higher than 150-200 cm, while the finger shrub can only grow up to 100 cm high. If you are looking for a good garden hedge that can also be used as a privacy hedge, then tall evergreen plants are much more suitable, think here of the thuja, cherry laurel or privet. You should choose the holly if you are looking for tall, evergreen and burglar-resistant hedges. While hollies don’t have sharp thorns, they do have sharp leaf edges that can be serrated or thorny, which is great for keeping intruders out. In addition, the holly’s compact growth habit provides plenty of privacy in the garden.
Roses are also very suitable as a property border. After all, the thorns can not only keep out intruders, but they can also keep out unwelcome guests, think wild animals here, with the sharp thorns also ensuring that your own animals can’t run away. A hedge of roses planted around a pasture area can therefore look pretty while providing plenty of protection. However, rose bushes are planted primarily because they look so pretty when they are in bloom. If you don’t have enough space for an informal landscape hedge, and if you don’t have windows to protect from intruders, then you can also use our rose bushes as border plantings so you can especially enjoy the fragrance and flower colors.
Because roses have very impressive flowers, they will also attract many insects to your garden during the blooming season. Insects are even magically attracted to rose flowers and to the flowers of the foxglove. Do you want to plant a finger bush hedge in the garden? However, you do not know which flower color best suits your garden? Then you can also choose our mixed finger shrub hedge, which you can find on our website under the hedge mixtures. The mixed foxglove hedge consists of the varieties ‘Abbotswood’, ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Red Ace’, which will create a hedge in your garden that has white, yellow and bright red flower colors.