Garden Gab

A ripe rose hip

If your hips are anything like mine, they don’t fall off very easily.  My rose hips that is.  They are still around well into the winter, bright red peeking out of the snow.  This is important because once a rose hip falls off its stem, its really past the point where you can save them for a new bush.  But chances are, even if your roses have brittle stems, your hips are still sticking around unless you’ve had a really strong storm.  Rather than waiting around to trudge out in the snow to save your rose hips however, now is a perfect time, as winterizing your home and garden winds down and you are tying up all the loose ends of your yardwork.  If you are not interested in starting a new bush but only want to protect the one you have, saving your rose hips are unneccessary.  Instead, add a layer of mulch, compost or miracle gro at the base of your rose bush to protect and nourish the root system over the winter months.

To start a new bush however (or share your roses with friends) you will need to save the seeds from your rose hips.  Be warned though, unless your roses are heirloom, the roses you get on the new bush may not look like the roses from your parent bush.  Ripe rose hips range from deep yellow to scarlet to orange-brown.  If you squeeze a ripe rose hip (don’t worry this won’t hurt the seeds) it will feel like a slightly under-ripe blueberry, with a little give and a hard center.  If the rose hip has dried and rattles or looks like a completely shriveled prune (a little pruney is ok), these seeds will probably not germinate for you.  With a thin knife, slice open your rose hips ( you only have to split the casing a little, its like cutting into a green pepper, there is a thin casing outside and a large ball of seeds in the center).  Pull the seeds out of the casing (you may have to dig them out with tweezers or your knife) and soak them in a bowl of water.  If you have any floating seeds, these have already used up their energy store and won’t germinate for you so you can throw them out.  After rinsing you will want to keep them in a plastic bag or container wrapped in a moist towel or damp peat.  Put them in a cold refrigerator but not the freezer.  After about 6 weeks you will want to transfer them to a seedling tray or if you live in warmer climates, you can plant them right away.  The seedlings will need direct light, but if you have a sunny window you won’t need anything extraordinary like a grow light.  Plant your seedlings after all danger of frost has passed.