MRS FAQs Post: March 10, 2005

Tom Travisano, March 10, 2005 I'm looking for advice on a good, reliable cold-climate hedge rose (upstate NY, zone 4). We have a 50 foot long fence in our front yard planted with a row of Simplicity roses. They've mostly survived--we lose one our two a year-- but not really thrived in our climate. They die back to ground level each winter, then have to grow back and they come up looking thin and spindley. Then the black spot and Japanese beetles hit them. I'm ready to pull up the Simplicities this spring. We're looking for a robust, hardy hedge, with dense green foliage, growing 4-6 ft high and with reasonably continuous flowering. We've had success elsewhere in our garden with the Canadian Explorer Series and Parklands but most of the ones we've tried: Wm Baffin, Henry Kelsey, Cptn Sam Holland, Alex MacKenzie, Morden Ruby, don't really have the right growth habit. MacKenzie might be OK but has limited bloom season. Baffin might work but would have to be trimmed aggressively or it would get too tall. The Buck Roses have never seemed to thrive in our area. Any advice on a good hedge rose along the lines I've mentioned would be most welcome.

3/10/05 Hello Tom, Try looking into the Easy Elegance Series of roses developed by Bailey Nurseries out of MN. Here is their website: http://www.easyelegancerose.com I have not tried them yet, but will get several at our Rose Sale in May. Good Luck, Joan Gotlibson MRS Member

3/14/05 Dear Tom; let me get this right. You live in frigid Zone 4 but want a tall fast-growing hedge rose that out-performs the J&P Simplicity and Baffin Roses. You see, I want to date Cindy Crawford but I'm over 60, fat and balding. Get the point. You are asking for the impossible. First of all, in zone 4, a tall hedge rose would have to be protected by soil,manure or some dense material for at least 4 by 3 feet for each plant. If yoy want a tall 50 foot hedge you want extreme privacy but you don't want to work at it. Also you want great fragrance. Forget roses; try planting a row of lilacs. They will survive your winter,will smell great in the summer and you only need to prune once a year. Your welcome, Gary A. O'Neil MRS Member

3/16/05 Tom, A great explorer rose is Martin Frobisher. It is constantly in bloom, about 5 feet, a shrub, zone 3, and unfortunatly attracts Japanese Beetles because it is fragrant. Even with the beetles this is one of the best explorers. Jerry Cinnamon MRS member