Rosa Rugosa Question

Hi everyone! Has anyone tried growing Rosa Rugosa as a fence along edges of their yards? We have a smallish front yard and are considering putting this along the sides, but are not sure how difficult it is to maintain the size. We'd rather not have angry neighbors complaining about roses creeping into their yards. :o) Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Melissa

Hi Drinnian-- I'm interested in your question because I just moved into a house with rugosa as a fence along part of my small front yard. (I'm zone 5, so take it for what it's worth.) I'll try to send you pics tomorrow.
Part of the rugosa wall is older, I think-- 4 feet tall or more, and it doesn't appear to be creeping from its original spot. (I'm pretty sure the previous owners didn't cut it back-- they let everything else go.) The rugosa does provide pretty good privacy from the street. But it's really overgrown & ugly--a thicket of thorny gray branches underneath. Not entirely pleasant to look at when they get that tall. I've been told it's possible to prune it back, but I don't know how to go about it (I'm a complete novice, this is my first yard). Most of the blooms are gone now but it looked more cheerful a few weeks ago with pink roses. If I'd been able to deadhead them I might still have flowers.
The rabbits don't seem to eat it, so that's a big plus here!
-Sean

Melissa-- someone told me this was rosa rugosa. This is what it looked like this morning.

This is the same view about 1/2 hour later, with the buckthorn removed. It's kind of hard to get in there and weed because the rose canes are thorny.

This is what it looks like now from the street side. You can see the plants are somewhat contained by the railroad tie walls & steps. (The dead stuff in front is a creeping juniper that seems to have come to the end of its days.)

I'd like the roses to be 1/2 to 2/3 as tall as they are now, but I'm not sure if I can cut it back that much. Any suggestions would be welcome.

-Sean

Here's a closeup -- hope it's the right plant

Hi drinnian and seanke, yes you can hard prune your Rugosa roses fence/hedge, in fact it will be really hard to kill it off, it is as tough as old boots, it is classed as a wild rose or rambler and hundreds of the roses we see and admire as proper garden types, are crosses between the Rugosa and others from way back, what I do with mine is get the chain saw out and just cut it to about a foot off the ground when it gets totally out of control, if I do keep on top of it, each year, I will get heavy duty gloves on and cut away all the old wood, that is the branches that have just finnished flowering, these are dark in colour whereas the new seasons wood is nice and softish greener or lighter in colour with softer foliage etc, you can either cut some hight off the new branches or leave them as is, these are the branches that will give you flowers the following year, after cutting I always give a rose fertiliser/feed as it helps build up the plants strength for flowering the following season, I give another feed in the spring and plenty of water if hot and dry weather for prolonged periods. When planting new roses, it is always best to get the soil good to start with by adding plenty animal manure/compost to the soil as they really do best in a rich, airy soil, they will reward you for it, If you want the rose hips, and some are large and bright red in winter, dont prune till spring as the birds love the hips and it is nice to attract wildlife into your garden as the birds will also eat all the bugs etc that you dont want.The Rugosa can spread by suckers under ground but, not like feet away, just right beside the parent plant, so you should'nt have a problem, if you are looking to buy new plants then go to a rose grower for advice as there are some really lovely perfumed ones on the market and the smell in the evening from the flowers is quite intoxicating, some have single flowers that is one row of petals while others are called doubles, that is double or more, rows of petals, they come in colours of pink, white, cream, red etc, so choose a colour that will enhance your house from the garden. Most rose growers have really good catalogues you can order via the web site or by post if you find adverts in papers etc, you get the plants either bare rooted or in pots, bare roots are normally cheeper but you need to have the site ready in advance for them as they come with no soil, should be soaked for a good few hours before you plant them and plant as soon as you can after they are with you, prune them a bit as some of the shoots may be damaged in transport, these bare rooted plants are best bought end of summer or spring just as the soil is warming up, keep well watered for the first season till they form good roots, if pot plants, then you can plant any time as the roots are in soil, but still best time is early fall or spring to give a chance to settle and grow good roots. hope this helps you , good luck and happy gardening. WeeNel.

Thanks for all the responses. It's great to see pictures of real bushes, rather than the advertising pictures shown on the nursery sites. I'm thinking that I may put one in the backyard by the patio, but go with something else to line my front yard. Maybe a small rock wall with Abelia and Powis Castle Wormwood? So many choices, but it sure is fun to think about. Good luck with your rugosa fence, seanke. Maybe we can give each other novice advice; this is my first yard too. Right now it's nothing but dirt (desert yard with no landscaping), but hopefully pretty soon we'll both be posting pictures of the beautiful things we've done with our yards. :o)
Melissa

You 2 novices wont be like that for long once you get the gardening bug, it takes over your life, believe me, when my husband asked for sugestions for my birthday a few years ago and I asked for a dumper truck, he agreed I had flipped, but then realised it meant less carrying for him to do, but my daughter was ready to get me certified as she was looking forward to a days shopping for shoes and handbags he he he, take your time with your garden as all mistakes are usually costly and such a waist of energy and hard work, better to plan ahead for each season, like prepare the ground well for late summer planting than buying the plants and watch them die on you because the ground aint ready for them, same for spring, get all the design sorted, then the ground AND then the plants, you will really enjoy it more that way, get some books from the librery to read over the winter, there are some good books for gardening with beginners in mind, so good luck to both of you and happy gardening, plenty folks here to help you find your way. WeeNel.

Ditto on Drinnian's thanks for all the responses. I had some of same questions as I was going to start some and WeeNel had given me all sorts of wonderful advice on that and then meanwhile someone gave me several they had already started so then I had the down the road questions too. The pictures were great and as always WeeNel's answers extemely helpful.

No problems guy's how do you think I learned and still learning even today, never be too proud to ask is my moto, as you will find gardeners are always so happy to give tips and advice, as I have said many times, you eventually learn the way that suits you best, but starting off is always full of doubts and questions so good luck, be patient and just enjoy. Weenel.