The potato rose is actually a wild rose, but can also be found in many domestic gardens. The wild form can be planted or it can be bred from it. The potato rose is particularly suitable for a useful hedge.
What are the benefits of a potato rose hedge?
A potato rose hedge is an ideal useful hedge that attracts insects and birds, has a burglary-inhibiting effect and produces edible petals and rose hips. It requires little care, thrives in nutrient-poor soil and should be cut annually.
What is a useful hedge?
A useful hedge is a hedge that not only looks beautiful but is also useful. For example, it can provide food for birds, attract butterflies and insects or even bear fruits that are edible for humans, such as the elderberry, the aronia berry or the potato rose.
By the way, a hedge with potato roses has another “use”: thorns that prevent or at least make unauthorized entry by burglars, for example, much more difficult. But this hedge has to be really dense for this.
Planting the hedge
The meaning and purpose of a hedge is that it grows nice and dense. Therefore, you should not plant the individual potato roses too far apart in a hedge. A distance of approximately one meter from the neighboring plant is recommended. If you don't want the hedge to spread too far, then put a rhizome barrier (€78.00 on Amazon).
Care for the hedge
Caring for this hedge is very easy, because the potato rose is very robust and quite undemanding. Drought doesn't bother her much, she just needs a little water shortly after planting to help her get started. Fertilizer is not necessary at all, because the potato rose grows well in nutrient-poor soil.
Cut the hedge correctly
A hedge with potato roses grows to about two meters high. If you want it to stay lower, it needs to be cut accordingly. Otherwise, annual pruning is recommended to maintain the shape of the hedge and encourage the individual roses to bloom profusely.
The most important things in brief:
- suitable for medium height and informal hedges
- has a burglary-inhibiting effect because of its thorns
- attracts insects and birds
- edible petals and rose hips
- Pruning difficult because of the thorns
- prune once a year
- water only after planting
- do not fertilize
Tip
Wear gloves and a long-sleeved jacket made of sturdy material when cutting your potato roses to prevent painful injuries.
