# Hedge Roses Field Guide
All roses, including hedge roses, require at least six hours of full sun. Roses are heavy feeders so they should be planted in soil to which plenty of manure and compost has been added. They must be fertilized every spring and should be pruned for size and shape.
Hedge roses do not need winter protection particularly if northern roses such as the Explorer series are used.
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Explorer Rose Hedge
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Baffin roses are cold-tolerant. The Explorer series of roses are a hardy variety developed in Canada for cold northern climates. They are disease-resistant and are hardy to Zone 3. One of the toughest roses in this series is the William Baffin rose. It is a large shrub with a five-foot wide spread. The foliage is a glossy green and the very lightly scented double flower is bright pink with very noticeable yellow stamens.
John Davis is another Explorer rose. It is smaller in height than the William Baffin rose but can grow into a dense hedge.
Polyantha Roses
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Polyantha roses are small, compact shrubs that bloom continuously. They are winter hardy and make showy hedges that are thick and impenetrable. Polyantha rose colors include pink, gold and cream. Two of the best polyantha roses to use as hedges are Bonica and the Fairy roses. They can grow to a height of about three or four feet with a spread of four feet.
The Fairy rose and Bonica rose are large, flowering shrubs. The long-lasting pink roses can be single or double-petaled and the leaves are a glossy green in color. The rose canes grow in arches that spray out of the bush.
Floribunda Hedges
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Floribunda roses grow in clusters. Floribunda roses grow abundantly in small clusters on spray and arch out of the bush. They are intensely fragrant and very floriferous and the blooms are very long lasting.
Floribunda rose varieties include Showbiz which is a medium red, medium pink Sexy Rexy, Dicky which is orange pink and Lavaglut which is a dark red.
Since floribunda roses bloom almost non-stop, they are very heavy feeders and need to be fertilized and mulched regularly.
David Austin Roses
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David Austin roses look delicate but are tough. David Austin roses look like delicate tea roses but their beauty belies their toughness. They make beautiful boundary hedges that flower continuously from late spring until fall. Their thorns will keep out even the most persistent intruder.
All David Austin roses are fragrant and disease-resistant. Some varieties that can used for hedging include Queen of Sweden, Harlow Carr and cream-colored Crocus rose.
Knock Out Roses
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Knock Out roses make colorful and disease-resistant hedges. Almost no maintenance is required by these plants. Knock Out roses flower all summer and orange-red hips give the hedge an interesting fall look. This variety will survive drought and can even be planted in partial shade.
Radrazz, Red Knock Out rose and Pink Knock Out rose are some varieties that adapt well to being grown as a hedge.
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