Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Rose Hips - What Now?

No, seriously. What do I do now?

Rose Hips on 365 Project

I have heard you can start roses from seeds but have never heard the step-by-step process. I know the seeds will not produce plants with blooms like their mother as roses cross-pollinate. My question, will these specimen work? I realize this maybe an exercise in futility.

So I looked on the internet and found these directions from the Alaskan Rose Society:

Mrs. Lester Mears of Palmer, a consulting rosarian of the American Rose Society, gathers rose hips at any stage of ripeness, from "one pink cheek" to mushy-ripe, preferably before the prolonged winter freeze.



Sowing rose seeds is easy. Here’s how Betty Mears does it. Mrs. Mears removes the seeds from the hips and washes them in a cup of water to which she adds a drop of detergent and a drop of laundry bleach. She rinses the seeds, then dries them on a towel. (Soak seeds in 3% peroxide for 24 hours - dispose of seeds that float.)



Milled sphagnum moss, saturated with water and squeezed dry, is mixed with the seeds. Mrs. Mears puts hers in a small jar, making sure some seeds are visible through the glass so she can tell when germination takes place.



The jar is covered lightly and stowed in the refrigerator, labeled and dated. you could use a plastic bag, secured with a twist-tie, and check it occasionally to keep it moist.



Depending on variety, rose seeds germinate in a 40-degree refrigerator in 30 to 120 days. When thread-like roots show through the jar, they’re ready for potting up, so check them as the time draws near. You may get one seedling, or many.



Shake the peat moss out of the jar and plant the seedlings in little pots or flats of commercial potting mix.



Set the pots on trays of wet gravel or enclose them in open plastic bags to create a greenhouse climate.



Give the young ones all the light you can, either at a window or under florescent tubes. Mrs. Mears turns her pots as the plants bend to the light and fertilizes them every other week with a diluted water-soluble fertilizer.

So, any other words of wisdom?

6 comments:

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

A cup of tea sounds great to me! Decorations for an artemisia tree? I have extras so don't send them to me, please! It looks like you have great directions to plant, so go for it. That black is looking a little bad, but what do I know maybe that's the one you need to use!

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

It should say "black one is looking a little bad". Hit the old publish your comment button a little too quick.

Unknown said...

LVL, I understood what you meant. Another question or four? Should these be drier? Does it matter if you mix varieties? Should I taste them first?

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

I don't think they need to be drier TG. I don't think it matters if you mix varieties. It does talk in more than one rose book that rugosa roses are preferable. Other books talk about crushing or grinding them before use. I found this link from The Herb Companion website. Hope it helps!

http://www.herbcompanion.com/Cooking/hiphip.aspx

Unknown said...

Thank you LVL. I knew you would have the answer. Not too many rugosas blooming here in hot old Texas. I do have a couple so I will try to groom them for the tea. Thanks for the info.

lifeshighway said...

Some people make oils and lotions from rose hips. If you want to get all crafty. I would like to place an order for rose bath oil.