Umm, hey guys.... I wouldnt use a Rugosa rose anywhere near my chickens. I own a garden center and landscape business, and I deal with these roses every year! Personally for the right situation no other plant will do, but I would never ever have one in my yard. Yes, they are invasive, not mildly so, but SEVERLY so! They are called the beach rose because they are planted in order to cover and protect the sand dunes, and hold them in place against the wind and water. Intense root systems are just half the problem. The thorns are unreal! Now we are not talking rose thorns like you see on a bouquet of long stem roses, that would be nice, no no! Rugosa looks more like a cactus on steroids, thin hair like thorns surround the thick meat tearing ones, from below the soil all the way up to the lovely smelling flowers.
And they do not provide good cover, as each stalk goes straight up, not generally arching over, so you would be growing an impenetrable sharp mass that your birds might try to scurry under, but more likely would wound themselves in!
There are so many better choices, depending on your location, for fast growing and lovely cover providing shrubs, In my humble opinion, Rosa Rugosa would be a horrible choice for chicken cover!
Try instead any of these Forsithia, wiegelia, euonymous, any of the viburnums, Hydrangeas, even some of the evergreens might not be bad, but I prefer an shrub that looses its leaves, so my birds can be sheltered, but still soak in the sun come winter. Personally, my birds hang our under a huge Burning Bush that is next to a Viburnum (mock orange) and they love to eat the BB's berries during the fall! But Burning Bush is now listed as a non-native invasive in most New England States, so unless you can dig one from a friend, they are hard to come by for sale.
If you wait until a little later in the summer, you may be able to get bigger sized shrubs a little less expensive, but do your self a favor, and dont bother with the big box store savings, regardless of what everyone thinks, those plants are NOT the same as the ones at a reputable nursery, and tho you may be able to nurse it along and keep it alive, a few dollars more gets you a MUCH better plant. Honestly.
Good Luck!
And they do not provide good cover, as each stalk goes straight up, not generally arching over, so you would be growing an impenetrable sharp mass that your birds might try to scurry under, but more likely would wound themselves in!
There are so many better choices, depending on your location, for fast growing and lovely cover providing shrubs, In my humble opinion, Rosa Rugosa would be a horrible choice for chicken cover!
Try instead any of these Forsithia, wiegelia, euonymous, any of the viburnums, Hydrangeas, even some of the evergreens might not be bad, but I prefer an shrub that looses its leaves, so my birds can be sheltered, but still soak in the sun come winter. Personally, my birds hang our under a huge Burning Bush that is next to a Viburnum (mock orange) and they love to eat the BB's berries during the fall! But Burning Bush is now listed as a non-native invasive in most New England States, so unless you can dig one from a friend, they are hard to come by for sale.
If you wait until a little later in the summer, you may be able to get bigger sized shrubs a little less expensive, but do your self a favor, and dont bother with the big box store savings, regardless of what everyone thinks, those plants are NOT the same as the ones at a reputable nursery, and tho you may be able to nurse it along and keep it alive, a few dollars more gets you a MUCH better plant. Honestly.
Good Luck!
