Hips I have never seen before.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I have never actually officially had a name for this rose . It was a very sad looking own root specimen in a pot and it was given to me when the nursery in town changed hands a few years ago . It hadn't even been able to find a home when on the mark down table and was destinied for the bin but I said i's take it as the leaves looked familiar .
It took a couple of years to come good and actually flower and I tentitively hung the label R. laevigata
on it. Last season was it's best flowering yet and it's grown heaps over the summer with great arching canes shooting up in all directions.
Yesterday while I was having a closer look at it while down the shed talking to OH when he was doing some concreting .
To my suprise I spotted some hips on it which it has never ever set before.
Any tips for getting seeds off one of these bushes to germinate anyone ?

cheers. Rosalie

.

Rosalie I placed this a few days ago and now have just read your post on the same subject. So as a lovely girl has put the same message on the members that breed roses here might respond with help you need. I hope they do.

I do know that there are not many on here that do not collect hips/seed. If the members that do could they list thier methods on this thread please. if it is not imposing on your methods could it be written from start to finish. This might encourage some other members to try. I am at present only asking on hip collection, if anyone would like to add thier pollination methods, please feel free to do so. Regards David..

Hi Rosalie, your lucky wish my Laevigata would set some hips. Just break open the hip and see if the seed is plump inside, if they are, make sure there are no pieces of the hip attached to the seed. Just get some paper hand towell ,place your seed on top and fold to make a little parcel. Put it under the tap and wet (make sure all of the paper towel is wet) place in a air tight container and place in the fridge, not the freezer. They will have to be in there for up to 6 to 8 wks, check now and then as they cannot dry out. Sow them in some seed raising mix, if they are ok, you will see action within a couple of weeks. Some species roses can take longer to germinate.

Warren, I have two questions on this if you do not mind,
1. Do you use tupperware type containers or Ziplock type bags?
2. What sort of germination is there if the seed is placed straight into plain dirt or seed raising mix?

Dave , what I did was go to the chemist or photo processors and get the containers from old roll film, great for seed. You know Dave I have never grown rose seed without stratification , but from all the literature written , they should be stratified. You see little rose seedlings growing in the garden dropped seed from birds, and you wonder how many years or winters they went through to break dormancy.

One year I had a seedling tray of ungerminated or stubborn seed, waited for action but nothing happen, so put the tray into a plastic bag and the whole lot went into the fridge, got a few frowns, but one month later I had germination again. The things we do.

Warren this is the first time in about years that I have found hips on it despite flowering really well the last couple of springs and the bees just going crazy on the flowers.
I'm guessing that it is self pollinated but unless it throws something absolutely startling [blood red or fully double etc ] we'll never really know I suppose.
One can always live in hope.

The bush would look very decorative if it got covered in hips like this every autumn ; with their little spines they look some some sort of little critters.


cheers. Rosalie

yeah they do look like critters, The thing about laevigata is that it flowers way before anything else, I have had trouble pollinating blooms with its pollen because you have to store it, making it less viable due to it degrading. One day.

Ozroz wrote:yeah they do look like critters, The thing about laevigata is that it flowers way before anything else, I have had trouble pollinating blooms with its pollen because you have to store it, making it less viable due to it degrading. One day.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for a miracle then Last spring Abraham Darby which is growing right next to it got the gong for being the first rose in my garden to flower ....