Earthsong is moderately thorny. I do not detect much of a fragrance. Mine takes a while to come back after winter. The Austin website has some information about planting rose hedges. Roses should be planted 18" to 3' apart depending on the variety chosen. A tall hedge rose like Hyde Hall should be planted 2-3' apart. A 3.5' tall hedge rose like Queen of Sweden should be planted 2' apart. A shorter bushy hedge rose like Harlow Carr (3.5-4' high) should be planted 1.5 - 2' apart. Helpmefind.com lists Earthsong as bushy upright 4', Queen of Sweden as medium bushy upright 39" and Harlow Carr as medium bushy well branched 4'1".

Here is a link that might be useful: Rose Hedges

Thanks predfern, that's really helpful. I chose ES over Carefree Beauty ultimately because it seemed like ES's upright shape would be more elegant than CB's more floppy shape.

Bit disappointed there's no fragrance and that it takes a while to return after winter. I thought as a z4 rose it would be cane hardy, most of my Austins are quite cane hardy and my Climbing Clotilde Soupert was tip hardy this year. Wonder if my microclimate is the reason (am walking distance from the lake).

I hope Earth Song is as glorious for you as it is here in Southern California. Yours probably won't be as large due to harsher environment, but here it would require five to six feet between them. It has built up to nearly five feet by easily six feet through. A very fine rose. Good choice. Kim

In Columbus, in the Earth Kind Garden with pretty much zero pruning and care, they do well and get pretty large. Here is a video I took last year. I'd say if you are letting them grow out more, you could go 3ft with spacing.

Here is a link that might be useful: Earth Song video

Thanks roseseek and jeffcat.

Jeff, your video was lovely. I was pleased by how bright and hot pink the rose is even in overcast weather :D

Do either of you think it is fragrant?

I'd rate Earth Song as mildly fragrant. It is cane hardy here in Zone 5b, and you're right, it stands more upright thatn Carefree Beauty. I don't think of it as particularly thorny.

Thanks professorroush. I have high hopes for this one. Plus I'm hoping that even if the blooms are only mildly fragrant, I will experience more simply because there'll be a whole hedge of them :D

Earth Song had some fragrance when I smelled it I believe. Nothing overly powerful, but it's more for appearance and form.

That sounds about right for the fragrance. I have my plant of it because of an interesting connection. A number of years ago, a friend who owned a specialty rose nursery had a customer come see him. The man asked if he could get a rose propagated then told him the story of the rose. The man was a musician and had played at Iowa State, meeting Dr. Buck. They discovered they shared not only a love of music, but also of roses. Dr. Buck took the man back to his greenhouses and showed him his roses. To commemorate the meeting, Dr. Buck gave him a plant of Earth Song. The man had moved it many times over the years and said now the plant was in decline and wanted to repropagate it. My friend called me to ask if I could help, and I told him to have the man bring cuttings, which I would then forward to Sequoia Nursery for propagation. He did, as did I. Burling at Sequoia rooted three plants from the cuttings. I kept one and brought two back to the nursery. Unfortunately, the man never returned and my friend didn't get his name or number.

I know every plant of any variety is all from the same original seedling. However, this one is special. Not only is it from that original seedling, but this one was also shared by its creator with a fellow rose and music lover out of friendship. To me, that just makes it even more special. Kim

Jeff,
Where in columbus is the earth kind trial garden: chadwick arboretum? Innisswood? Whetstone park?
Thanx, dave in marysville

The Park of Roses is at Whetstone Park in Clintonville. The Earth Kind Garden is off to the left as you are walking up the steps off to the side of the main rose garden.

Thanks jeffcat, good to know about the fragrance.

roseseek, that's a really cool story :D It makes me want ES even more!

I grew Earth Song on a windswept hill in central Ohio Z6 and it was cane-hardy for me with no protection other than topping off the mulch in fall and making sure it was well-watered. The snow tended to blow off that bed which was out in the middle of the lawn.

I remember being very impressed with the quality of blooms and that Earth Song was well clad with foliage & never got leggy. I even stripped some lower foliage to help reduce blackspot invasion.

I went with three-foot centers. 3 Earth Songs shared a bed with 2 Bonicas and another Buck which was supposed to be Distant Drums but wasn't! Never figured that one out...

Thanks barbarag, that helps to know it was cane-hardy for you.

ES is very cane-hardy and one of the first to leaf out, along with 'Thomas Affleck' down here in Peoria. I already tip-pruned both this year...they had minimal die-back.
-terry

Terry,
Is Thomas Affleck a good variety? Hard to find, ARE being about the only source.

Dave, I purchased Thomas Affleck from ARE. It's very winter hardy, blooms all summer, and forms a very nice 3-4' tall shrub. Like I said, it's very cane hardy and just takes minimal tip-pruning in the spring to clean it up.

Another big plus is that TA is virtually thornless. IMO, if I were going to be putting in a hedge, I'd plant 'TA' because it is thornless...easier to clean out in the spring! I made a huge mistake of putting in a row of 'Sir Thomas Lipton' rugosas and I almost have to dress myself in armor to clean those guys out...they bite and draw blood.