300 Feet of Thorns, Planting a Bare Root Rose Hedge.

[kasuro]

Late last week we finally put in our "fence," made with 150 bare-root Robin Hood Musk Roses. 

The plants arrived looking like this...


As you can see, my dog, Fly, was keeping watch making sure I wasn't molested by any squirrels as I worked. 

We have 2 acres of property, but apparently that's not enough to keep our dogs and chickens from wondering the neighborhood, so I had to close up the North property line as economically as possible. 

The top and right sides of the red box equaled approximately 300 lineal feet. (measurements in the photo are for the whole yard)


While it still cost me $525 to buy 150 roses, it turned out to be 1/3 of the cost of chain link. 

It took me 2.5 days to get all the roses in the ground and would have taken longer if my husband hadn't helped by digging the holes. 


My son also helped by inspecting DH's work


Next up, waiting for the hedge to fill in and we'll need to close up the hole between the house and garage and come up with something to close in the SW corner of our front yard, but we will probably need more traditional fencing for those areas. 

I did write a rather lengthy blog post, that reads a little bit like a tute, about the process I went through to get the roses evenly spaced along a straight line and how to treat a bare root nursery stock when it arrives in the mail. 

[MissingWillow]

Wow, that's a lot of work!  How long until they fill out into a fence hedge?  I've never grown roses.

[kasuro]

I have high hopes that they'll grow about a foot a year.  So it's not an instant fence, but it should fill-in over time. 

This summer my expectation is based on establishing roots so they won't die over the winter.  Though if next year's winter is anything like the last one, they won't have a problem. 

There's a section, out back, that's full-sun and as long as they get the water they need, should grow like mad.  Other sections have partial shade and may not grow as fast, though they won't dry out as quickly, so I predict they'll keep pace. 

I did give the roses a "Secret Weapon" to help them along - Azomite. 

These roses don't really want a lot of NPK fertilizer, so the Azomite adds trace minerals to the soil so that growth isn't limited by some missing element.   It's more like a vitamin that a food. 

[kasuro]

Just a quick update now that the hedge has been in the ground 1 month. 


A few of the plants are even starting to make buds.

[Hollie Hobbie]

Looks nice. great job. I can't grow roses where I live because of japanese beetles. Had a beautiful heirloom rose but those beetles killed it everytime in bloomed. Had to dig it up.
Good luck. Keep us posted.

[kasuro]

Sorry to hear about your pest problem.  Did you try the beetle traps? 

I realize the rose is gone now, but if you ever decide to try it again, you could try hanging traps or there is a beneficial nematode you can buy and spray on the ground in your yard.  The nematodes interrupt the life cycle by attacking the grubs before they come out of the ground as hungry beetles.

I have a flock of chickens who think Japanese beetles taste like Yummy and run over top of each other trying to get the last one.  Not that something else couldn't get them, but if they get buggy, hopefully it's a variety that the chickens will vacuum up.

[Hollie Hobbie]

Yes. Tried the beetle traps they made it much much worse. So I got rid of those a few years ago and it was better. Since then I have sprayed nematodes and that has helped, but the rose is long gone as well as my heirloom hollyhock etc. I have heard about neem oil also, but don't know much about it. I think some of the problem is I have a small lot in town and other folks don't take action with pests or keeping up their property unless it is spraying the heck out of their grass with chemicals. So, we are pretty much on our own here in my neck of the woods.

[kasuro]

I hear you.  We have a large vacant field on one side and neighbors who don't hesitate to fog their whole yard for a picnic.  I'm pretty sure poisoning guests makes one a bad hostess, but I can always cross my fingers and hope the wind is blowing the other way before they entertain. 

[Hollie Hobbie]

OMG! Yes. I see that here too. That fogging stuff has got to be bad. I notice that also when we go camping if you can believe it...camping!! I has to be bad for pets too.