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'Alex MacKenzie' rose Reviews & Comments
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I've had a dozen plants of this variety as a hedge since 2003 under the following conditions:
-In Québec City, which means zone 4 with damp, hot summers and cold, humid and snowy winters -On a windy street corner, facing south, about 8 feet from traffic, with decent sun during midday only. Parts of the hedge are quite shaded. -No pesticide or fertilizers of any sort -No pruning except for dead wood in the spring -No winter protection whatsoever; snow cover usually between 2 to 4 feet
Here are my observations:
-A complete lack of pests of any sort to this date, even when some other roses are being chewed up by caterpillars, covered in aphids or defoliated by black spot. Mildew is not common in my garden so no comment on this specific disease. So it's great for a no-spray situation. And when I say "complete", I mean it. -Very floriferous, apparently unaffected by the amount of winter dieback. The more shaded plants do not bloom as well and are smaller but I still get a decent amount of flowers from them. -Not very bushy, rather anarchic growth. Must be planted close together to yield a decent hedge. Mine were planted 2 and a half feet apart and I should have planted them closer. Not a first choice for hedges. -The higher plants reach close to 7 feet each year, but single plants are not very uniform (i.e. a few canes from the same plant reach this height put the plant is still not very even). Growth seems unaffected by the previous winter. -Blooms from late june to late august; very reliable. Few hips. The flowers have an almost fluorescent glow that is great for brightening dreary areas. -Though grafted, they have had plenty of time to root over the rootstock. Not a single sucker as of 2009. -Very prickly. Great for stopping intruders. -Barely perceptible fragrance.
All in all, a very nice plant despite its uneven growth.
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These are great posts - very informative. Thanks for your participation.
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I'm sad I'm running out of space protected from the deer as I would like to try this rose.
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We have had a very bad winter. We have about 26 JP Simplicity roses lining the driveway. 6 survived the winter. We've lost up to 6 in a winter but never only had 6 left. We were looking for a different rose to replace them and wondered about Alexander Mackenzie. I used Roses for Michigan by Nancy Lindley for the suggestion. When I looked it up here it said it was a climber. I need a suggestion for a solution to this problem. We are cutting down on the number of roses and gardens we had designated for roses after this winter but I really don't want to give up on the roses along the driveway. Plymouth, MI Zone 5
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Kay,
You can do an ADVANCED SEARCH for roses in the HelpMeFind database by zone. Here are the steps: 1. Click ROSE SEARCH on the navigation bar to the left 2. Click the ADVANCED SEARCH tab 3. Click GROWING 4. Select the zone where you garden 5. Click CONTINUE 6. Click SEARCH
A list of links to roses will appear and you can click on any link to reach the rose page. If you find a rose you like, just click the BUY FROM tab in the upper right portion of the rose page and scroll down and you will find a list of nurseries which have indicated that they carry that rose in their inventory.
Please note that HMF is a work-in-progress, so the list may be incomplete. We update zone information whenever we find that kind of information about a rose.
Often the way we learn about hardiness is by comments from site users. Each rose page has a COMMENTS & QUESTIONS tab. You can click that tab and see what other site users have posted about the rose you are researching.
I hope this helps.
Smiles, Lyn
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Alexander Mackenzie is variously said to have mild or medium fragrance, but I have had one for four years, and I have never been able to detect the slightest scent. My rose buddy always insists that it has a faint scent, but I suspect she does so because she fears it will otherwise end up on the bonfire. Do other people who grow him smell anything?
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#1 of 5 posted
3 MAY 05 by
Melanie
I have only had my rose bush for a year, (planted last spring). Last year he bloomed nicely but I didn't really notice a scent.
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I love this rose but it does not seem to have a scent.
Sharon
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#3 of 5 posted
1 FEB 06 by
Unregistered Guest
I have definitely been able to smell its scent. It is like fresh rasberries.
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Scent in roses is variable both because of how scent is percieved by different "noses" and because of the roses themselves. Some roses will only release scent in the early hours of the morning. Others only when the temps reach a certain degree. Others only if they have had X number of hours of sunlight. Scent is a tool that the plants use to attract pollenators, so when and how it is released is dictated by nature.
Smiles, Lyn helpmefind.com
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#5 of 5 posted
14 OCT 06 by
Unregistered Guest
My rose is about 8 years old and very large. When blooming, it fills the air with a light raspberry scent. Even visitors notice the aroma.
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Initial post
25 FEB 04 by
Unregistered Guest
could you please tell me how ,when ,where & why the ALEXANDRA ROSE came by its name Many Thanks, Peter
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Alexander Mackenzie was introduced in 1985 by the Government of Canada's Department of Agriculture where a group of rose breeders are working on roses that will survive sub zero temperatures. Alexander MacKenzie was a Canadian explorer.
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Dear Peter, The Alexandra Rose is a different rose entirely--a 1994 David Austin rose. I believe it must have been named after Queen Alexandra, who was the patroness of the National Rose Society (now Royal National Rose Society) until her death in 1925. Unless I am much mistaken, she was Queen Elizabeth's great-grandmother.
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