Dog Rose Hedge Plants

• Variety: Dog Rose, the native wild rose for a prickly country hedge
• Common name: Dog Rose, Wild Rose, Briar Rose
• Latin name: Rosa canina
• Sold as: Bareroot hedge plants in two sizes
• Plants per metre: 3 in a single row, 6 in a staggered double row
• Height in a hedge: About 1.5m standing alone, over 3m where it scrambles up through a mixed hedge
• Height unpruned: 2.5 to 4m, in 5 to 10 years
• Type: Deciduous
• UK native: Yes
• Thorny: Yes, with strong prickly stems
• Flowers: Single, fragrant, pale pink or white, in early summer
• Hips: Red, in autumn
• Best soil and site: Any drained soil, poor soil included. Sun or partial shade, north-facing sites too. Exposed or sheltered
• Hardiness: H7, the hardiest rating there is
• Wildlife value: RHS Plants for Pollinators. Hips for birds
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Dog Rose, Rosa canina, is a vigorous, prickly native wild rose for country hedging, with fragrant pale pink or white flowers in early summer and red hips in autumn. It is on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list and grows in sun or partial shade on any soil that drains.

Dog Rose Hedge Plants

Dog Rose is the cheapest and most commonly used native wild rose for use in prickly, secure country hedging. It's an incredibly hardy, fast-growing and versatile plant that will grow pretty much anywhere except on the very wettest sites. It carries clusters of single, scented pale pink flowers in early summer that bees love, and small red hips in autumn that attract birds.
Standing alone, they'll grow to 1.5 metres, but when they're pushed up against other plants in a mixed hedge, they can reach over 3 metres.

View our selection of roses for hedging or see our range of thorny hedging plants.

Rosa canina hedge plants are only delivered bareroot, during winter (Nov-April).
All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

Growing Dog Rose

As a hedge plant, it'll grow anywhere with a bit of sun and soil that isn't waterlogged. If you are growing it as a shrub, it likes full sun to flower and fruit really well.

Spacing a Dog Rose hedge:

Standard country hedging: plant at 3 per metre, 33cm apart in a single row, or 6 per metre in a staggered double row, which has a W shape viewed top-down.

You can grow it as a climber/rambler over a fence, wall, or up a tree.

Garden Design Ideas

It's a very common component of mixed country hedging. It'll make a decent enough, shaggy country hedge by itself, but it needs something like Hawthorn or Blackthorn to give it more structure.

Wild roses aren't often used as specimen shrubs, probably because there are so many amazing ornamental roses to choose from, but if your priority is helping wildlife, then they're the best choice by far.

History & Trivia

Other common names include dog, hep or bird briar, cankerberry, and cat whin.

When you see roses in medieval era heraldry, they're usually based on this one.

The oldest known specimen is the Tausendjähriger Rosenstock, the Thousand-years rosebush, growing up the side of Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany. It's about 9 metres tall and survived the carpet bombing by Allied forces that destroyed the cathedral itself in 1945, regrowing from the roots well before the cathedral was rebuilt.

It's on the RHS list of plants for pollinators.

Planting Companions

In a native mix, Dog Rose goes with Hazel and Crab Apple, and with Guelder Rose for autumn berries. Field Rose is the gentler wild rose. The rest are under native hedging plants. Dust the roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Buy Hedging from Ashridge

Hedging is not a sideline here: your Dog Rose is grown for us as hedging from the outset by specialist growers, then lifted to order while dormant. Ashridge Nurseries is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025, and bareroot plants are guaranteed for 12 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Dog Rose plants do I need per metre?

Three per metre, 33cm apart, in a single row. For a thicker hedge, plant six per metre in a staggered double row. Measure the run and add a few spares.

How tall does Dog Rose grow?

By itself it makes a shrub of about 1.5 metres. Pushed up among other hedge plants it scrambles to over 3 metres. The RHS gives 2.5 to 4 metres as its ultimate height.

Can I plant a hedge of Dog Rose alone?

You can, and it will be a shaggy one. It arches and scrambles, so it is better mixed with Hawthorn or Blackthorn, which give the hedge its structure.

Will Dog Rose grow in shade?

Yes. The RHS lists it for sun or partial shade and says it tolerates poor soil and north-facing sites. It flowers and fruits best where it reaches the sun.

Is Dog Rose good for wildlife?

It is on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list for its open, single flowers, and the hips feed birds in autumn.