I have just harvest hips from my garden, but what then?

General Discussion
1

Hi everyone

This is my first attempt to make my own roses from seeds.

I have just taken some hips from my garden (in Denmark). I am unsure if I shall put the hips in the refrigerator for a month or so first, or take the seeds out of the hips now, and then put the seeds in the refrigerator. I have collected OP hips from Bonica 82, New Dawn and Santana.

I have read some articles about this procedure, but it seems that there are lots of different opinions on this suspect.

Looking forward to get your opinion, thanks.

Regards

Bo

Denmark

2

Bo,

I have done it both ways and found that either way works. In the past 3 years I have left the hips intact in a cool room (about 60F) for at least a month before putting them in the fridge. I move them to the fridge and then leave them for about another month and THEN I start removing the achenes (Seeds) from the hips. They go back into the fridge for another 8 weeks and are then sown in flats in an unheated greenhouse. (Temps rarely go below 32F from that point on)

Many other people will tell you that they remove the achenes from the hips immediately after harvest. Others leave the hips intact until just before sowing, allowing the hips to degrade naturally. I don’t think there is a clear “wrong” way to do it, so don’t get too concerned over this aspect of the task.

At any rate, you need to allow about 12 weeks for proper stratification (chilling) of the seed, so its getting to be time that they were in the fridge, one way or another.

Best of luck!

Paul

Link: www.rdrop.com/~paul/mini.breeding.html

3

Bo, there are lots of opinions because many things work.

People usually refrigerate the hips in order to delay having to remove the seeds until they have time to do it. You can remove the seeds now and refrigerate them until you are ready for germination. Timing, of course, depends on your setup and/or whether you intend on growing them outside when the weather is right. After you have refrigerated them for a few months some will start germinating soon after you remove them from the cold, so you need to be ready and have a place for the little seed babies to start growing.

4

Hi

Thanks for your advice. Actually the hips have been on the roses until yesterday. The temperature has been about 40-50F for the last 3 weeks in the daytime, and even down to 25F at night. The hips though are still in fine shape, so I hope the seeds are all right too.

I think I will give the hips a month in the refrigerator before I take out the seeds.

Thanks again.

Bo

Denmark