Theres something quietly hopeful about holding a rose hip in your hand and knowing that inside it are seeds small, hard, unimpressive things that could become entirely new roses. Not copies. Not guarantees. But possibilities.
A hip is the fruit of the rose, and inside are seeds which will become new varieties of roses if planted. Of course they will give roses. On the other hand, it is very likely that the plants thus obtained will not be identical to the mother plant. Most roses that we cultivate are hybrids and have a very mixed genetic background. Plus, who knows which rose bush is the babys other lucky parent? Bees can go from flower to flower, bringing with them the pollen of several different rose bushes. These hips are called open pollinated because the bees and the wind fertilize the flowers, instead of a human placing pollen to combine two specific roses in the cross.
It is rare to get a rose worth keeping from open-pollinated hips, but I still like to grow them just to see what happens.
If you want to try, start with a ripe hip. Cut open the ripe hip and remove the seeds. You can pry them out with your thumbnail. The seeds vary in size and are very hard. Crush the fruit and remove the seeds, then rinse them under running water to remove any remaining flesh. Make sure to remove any pith from the soft part of the hip that may be clinging to the seeds, because the pith contains an enzyme that inhibits germination. If youll be storing them for later planting, place them on an absorbent surface and let them dry off first.
Most roses need to go through a cold period to germinate. You can sow them outside in the fall, barely covering them. Or you can lay the seeds out on a folded, damp paper towel, place the paper towel into a zipper sandwich bag, and put the baggie into the crisper of your refrigerator for at least 60 days. Mark the baggie with the name of the rose that the hips came from. Then you wait.
In the spring, with the return of warm weather or when you take the pot out of the fridge small plants will grow.
Some people grow roses from seed outdoors, at the mercy of season and sun. Others do it indoors in large pots, under T5 lights. It may seem silly to not have them outside, but if you live at 9000ft and dont get the best sun through any of your windows, you work with what you have. Being that you control the sun, you can really make them grow with efficiency. Most plants seem to like 18 hours for daylight for growing and 12 hours for flowering. Almost everyone grows them at the mercy of season and sun outdoors, but indoors you can imagine coming into your house filled with beautiful plants in various stages of growing even when its cold and snowing for months.
Once your seedlings are strong enough, plant them out in a sunny, well-drained location. Roses are tolerant of heavy clay soils, at least as long as the drainage is reasonable. In times of drought, roses appreciate deep watering. Try watering them with a soaker hose or drip irrigation system. Both water the soil without wetting the leaves, the ideal situation for preventing rose diseases, as they tend to occur mostly on wet leaves.
Arm yourself with patience. Usually, your roses wont produce flowers for two or even three years when you grow them from seed. To increase blooming, apply a slow-release organic fertilizer in early spring. Apply again after the first bloom. In mild climates where roses flower most of the year, a third application at the end of August may also be worthwhile.
How long does it take to grow a mature rose from seed? Long enough that you have to mean it. Long enough that you might forget what you were hoping for in the beginning. And then one day, something opens. It may not be identical to the plant you started with. It may not be a keeper. But it will be yours grown from a seed you pried loose with your thumbnail, tucked into a folded paper towel, and waited on through the quiet dark of a refrigerator drawer.