Dog Rose (Rosa canina)

Our range of Dog Rose bare root plants (Rosa canina)

We have bare root dog rose hedging plants in several sizes.  The 1+0 specification plants are seedlings (often called whips) which were sown from seed in the spring and are sold during the following November to April months ie they are one year old.  We have dog rose bare root whips in several heights all grown by us in Herefordshire.

We always have several batches of seed of dog rose including UK provenance and the highest quality imported seed so if the seed provenance is particularly important to you, please give us a call so that we can allocate plants from the most appropriate batch.

In addition we have cell grown dog rose plants which are grown by one of the UK's best specialist growers and these plants are available all year round.

You can read more about the specifications we offer on the tab just below the pricing table - to the right of this product description.

Dog Rose (Rosa canina) Summary

This is the most common of the four native wild roses that are often seen in mixed country hedging, the others being field rose (Rosa arvensis), the sweet briar (Rosa rubiginosa) and the downy rose (Rosa tomentosa).  Dog rose is extremely thorny, puts out long flexible stems with pretty and quite large pink and white open single rose flowers and then in autumn it has red rose hips.   It can be hard pruned to keep it hedge height and will cope with hedge laying, or it can be left to become a shrub in woodland setting that is not overly shaded because they do like some sunshine.

Soil and situation

Dog Rose is very commonly found throughout the UK.  It will grow on all soil types and in every situation, however inhospitable. It flowers in June after Hawthorn and Blackthorn have finished and is often the only flowering plant in long stretches of farm hedgerows at that time.

Dog roses are found in many farm and country hedges and on the sunnier edges of woodlands and scrub land but will also grow and flower in partial shade.

Leaves, flowers, fruit and bark

The leaves are like cultivated rose leaves, quite dark green, pointed, finely toothed, alternating up the stem, held in pairs.  Flowers are open, pale pink or pink and white, 5 petalled and with many stamens – brilliant for insects. The flowering period is generally late April or early May so it extends the flowering period of country hedging which starts in March with Blackthorn, then Hawthorn in April and then Dog Rose and also Elder later in the month and running into May/June when Alder buckthorn and/or Purging buckthorn can extend the flowering season. Fruits are juicy orange/red oval rose hips and develop in September and October, often with very many on each plant.  The fruits are a food source for many birds. The thorns on Dog Rose are curved so that it can cling on to other species of plant as it grows – its thorny tangled stems help to make a stock proof hedge impenetrable.

The young wood is smooth and green but becomes grey, tough and fissured with age.

Eventual height and growth rate

If not trimmed to hedge height Dog rose will grow to about 3m, a bit more in perfect conditions.  Growth rate is quite fast – putting out long shoots each year after pruning.

This section gives definitions on the specifications of plants that we sell.  We are specialists in field grown (or bare root) plants which are grown in two ways.  The majority are grown from seed, some are ready within one growing season (seedlings or 1+0's) and some species require two growing seasons (1u1's).  In addition to growing from seed we also grow from small plants or cuttings (transplants) which are much more widely spaced (taking more land, more irrigation water, fertilisers and labour).  There are only a handful of bare root wholesale nurseries in the UK and of those even fewer grow transplants but Ray Jenkins has many years' experience of transplanting so we grow these in large volumes.  Ray has written this blog about the benefits of bare root plants and how they are grown and another blog which gives further detail on bare root specifications.

The detailed specifications are shown below.  If you are in doubt about what specification to use please email us on enquiries@rjtreesandhedging.co.uk with a description of the project (and photos if appropriate) and we will advise you.

1+0 - field grown in one season from seed, known as a seedling (sometimes called a whip), generally a slender single stem plant.   These are the cheapest specification and are particularly suitable for planting where weed competition will be less intense, soil is shallow or on exposed windy sites.  Gives a high root to shoot ratio and minimal plant "check".

2+0 - a 2 year seedling, field grown from seed in the same seed bed in two growing seasons where the species cannot be grown to a saleable plant from seed in one season

1U1 - 2 year old plant called an undercut, field grown for two seasons in the same seed bed and undercut by machine (a sharp blade cutting the roots under the soil level) after the first year to develop the root structure. We do this with several species which take 2 years to develop (eg oak, beech, hornbeam)

1+1 - 2 year old plant (transplant) grown from seed in the first year and then transplanted into a different area of the field and spaced out for the second growing season - a robust plant with a larger and more robust root system than seedling or undercut plant which will enable it to better withstand drought and weed competition. Often the best choice and the staple norm for farm hedging and this specification is a requirement of the Countryside Stewardship Grant

1+2- a 3 year old plant, two years field growing in the seedbed and then transplanted (and spaced out) for a further two growing seasons giving a tall, stocky, bushy plant

2+1- a 3 year old plant, two years field growing in the seedbed and then transplanted (and spaced out) for a further growing season, giving a strong bushy plant

3+1 - as above but field grown for a further growing season for more height and a very bushy plant

1+3- 4 year old, one year field growing in the seed beds and then transplanted (and spaced out) for three years, giving a very strong, bushy plant

2+2- 4 year old, two years field growing in the seed beds and then transplanted (and spaced out) for a further two years - a very mature plant suited to certain species like beech and hornbeam where we can offer almost instant hedging

and some that are a bit different.....

P9 - a plant grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel in a 9cm pot (for holly which germinates poorly in the field)

Cell grown - a plant grown in small deep cells (like a small yogurt pot) and then lifted out of those for transportation. Commonly used in forestry and large hedging projects.  Very high quality plants with excellent success rate.  See our blog on the benefits of cell grown plants.

C+1 or C+2 - a 3 or 4 year old plant initally started as hardwood cuttings grown on for a year as cell grown plants and then lined out in fields to grow on for a further 1 or 2 years (a technique used for Cherry Laurel)

0/1 - a hardwood cutting, then field grown for one season (for example for white willow, black poplar and osier)