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.

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