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rodericky

need advice opn hedge roses

rodericky
9 years ago

Last fall you gave me much appreciated info and lovely pictures. We decided on double knockout red (neighbors have them) and you suggested Julia Child yellow. Last week the old unknown but really ugly hedges were cut down and the stumps ground out. I placed alternate red and yellow construction flags 5 feet apart to mark the location of the plants. We will have a local nursery plant and mulch the 125 foot hedge. Before I place my order I would appreciate any comments favorable or not before I commit.

Thanks, Doug in south central PA

Comments (11)

  • wirosarian_z4b_WI
    9 years ago

    Only a question....have you checked with anyone in YOUR AREA that grows both of these roses to see if they grow approximately the same size or the size you have planned for? Don't go just by the size listed on the tag or catalog, sometimes a rose grows to a significantly different size than what is stated & size can vary significantly from zone to zone.

  • seil zone 6b MI
    9 years ago

    Knock Out may significantly out grow Julia. KO is bred to be a hedge rose of a sort. Julia isn't. Mind you she gets good size but I don't think she's as big as my KO gets. Besides, KO, in all of it's forms, is really just a ho hum rose to me. Julia is a star!

  • rodericky
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks wirosarian and seil. Among the pictures I saw here last fall was a hedge with KO and Julia Child. The poster indicated both were about 5x5 feet. That prompted me to opt for JC as the KO yellow looks very pale with the outer petals almost white. The hedge defines one side and the back of my property on the property line. I have enough room to plant a single JC yellow in another location. Is there another yellow that could match KO in height?

  • diane_nj 6b/7a
    9 years ago

    Maybe Sunny Knock Out (Chamblee's has it) would get to 4' tall. Hybridized by Bill Radler, who is the hybridizer of Knock Out. I was going to recommend Carefree Sunshine (another Radler), but it might be too small.

  • dublinbay z6 (KS)
    9 years ago

    What about Limoncello? I haven't grown it, but if you do a search on this forum, it has been praised in the past as very disease-resistant and bloomiferous, and helpmefind.com lists it as 3.5 ft tall--but maybe that isn't tall enough either.

    If you can't find a good yellow, do another search on this forum for a red and pink hedge of Knock Outs--it was quite a handsome hedge, as I remember, and the pink and red KOs have similar growing habits.

    Hope that helps.

    Kate

    Here is a link that might be useful: Limoncello

  • boncrow66
    9 years ago

    I have many KO's and they tend to spread very wide which makes them a great hedge, they all mesh together. I have one yellow KO and it is more pale almost white. I have other roses with my KO but they are ether on the end of the row or behind them.

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    9 years ago

    I just wonder whether red and yellow, both strong colors, would really look good when they're alternated. Red and pink in my opinion would be better, or all one color. Otherwise your hedge may have a choppy look and be confusing to the eye. It's frankly not something I would ever choose to do. If you only choose one type of rose you also won't have the problem of different heights, which again would not be pleasing. Depending on your overall color scheme, I would choose either all Julia Child or all Knockout, although those roses have been overused to a huge extent. I would personally choose one of the rugosas, which are tough as nails and do very well in cold winters. There are mail order places like Palatine or Pickering (both in Canada) which should have a wide variety of rugosas. You never have to spray them, either, and in fact they can't tolerate spraying. Many of them have beautiful hips in the fall that birds love.

    Ingrid

  • dublinbay z6 (KS)
    9 years ago

    I was going to help out by locating that picture of the red and pick knock outs, but I discovered that I already posted it for you when you were first planning your hedge. I guess it didn't interest you much, but if you want to re-consider the idea, the link if below. You need to scroll about halfway down that thread to see the picture. I think it is quite attractive.

    Kate

    Here is a link that might be useful: When to trim back knock out roses . . .

  • Sow_what? Southern California Inland
    9 years ago

    Doug:

    I agree with everything Ingrid said, and have some additional comments. I love hedges, and design a lot of them, but have done only a few with roses. When I create a rose hedge, I prefer to keep it simple, using only one type/color of rose. If I want two colors, I'll create a second shorter hedge in front of the first. Or I might intersect a yellow hedge, for example, with a white one to create an abstract, contemporary look. I do think the picture Kate linked of the red and pink rose hedge is pretty, but I don't have the courage to create a hedge from two different types of roses. Too complicated. Too many things that might look wrong. Not just height, but form, foliage, color. And who knows what else. When I create a hedge I want it to read as one unified object, so Ingrid nailed it when she used the word "confusing" in reference to your selection of two different roses.

    Regarding the color scheme, color can really set the mood for a space. So how do you want the garden to make you feel? A saturated red and a saturated yellow (as these two roses seem to be) is going to give you a high-voltage color scheme. If done well, it should be exuberant and exciting. If done poorly, it might read as just plain loud. Adding a lot of white and white with yellow can help even it out. Adding a plant that's white, yellow, and red can knit the whole scheme together, especially if you scatter it here and there throughout the garden. Just be aware that a red and yellow garden can be a happy space, but is not likely to be tranquil and mesmerizing. And a red/yellow pairing is not the easiest color scheme for those without experience or innate artistic flair to pull off.

  • rodericky
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Again thanks for all the comments. We (my wife) has decided to go with KO red and KO Sunny. The nurseryman will be here this morning to check the layout, test the soil etc. He informed us that a double Sunny is now available so we'll go with that and a double red. Sunny being pale to almost white should ease the appearance of 2 strong colors competing.

  • rodericky
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I misuunderstood about the KO Sunny. The nurseryman (Bill) said he inquired about double Sunny, not that they were available. Anyway he recommended 3 boxwoods in the corner with all red double KO at 5 foot intervals and 3 Sunny in front of the boxwoods. That's what we're going with. Again thanks, all the comments helped us to decide. I will post pix when the hedge is in full bloom