I am having a problem with my ripening hips. The outside are turning a nice bright orange that would make a Tennessee fan proud, but inside the seeds are brown and appear to be rotted. The pulp is also rather wet. Can I be killing the hips with too much care. I am growing the plants outdoors in 20 gallon pots with well drained soil. I water daily and spray weekly with either Zyban or compass. Occasionally I add decree or Chipco to the spray material. I have been wrangling open pollinated hips from plants that I have been finding out in the public. The hips are nice and ripe with clean white seeds. These plants receive no care and probably are not watered heavy. Can anyone offer any opinion or advice to solve my problem. Presently I am taking the stand to reduce the amount of water the plants receive.
I would say from my own experience that overwatering, esp., in temps that don’t warrant that much water, you are risking some rotting. So. Cal. has averaged cooler (10 degrees F)temps. this summer, and I have watered my roses in the approx. same way as previous summers, and the leaves, flower production and the general health look great, but I am just noticing a small number of hips that are rotting, spotting, and prematurely splitting. I have cut back on the water a bit to late. We are experiencing a lot of days in the 70’s where this time of yr it usually is in the high 80’s/90’s with drying winds, not A.M. fog. Apparently the sprays you are using aren’t effective against whatever agent is causing the ‘rot’. I haven’t used any sprays since late spring, but I am guessing it is an excessive water thing that is encouraging something fungal to thrive.
Dan are the roses with these hips all of the same variety, or not?
Hi Dan, do you cover your hips? I had the same problem as you a few years back and I believe water is getting inside the hip, probably through the top. After I started covering them I didn’t see any rotted seeds.
I would like to thank everyone for replying to my problem. I’m located in S.E. Tennessee where the temperatures have been in the mid to high 90’s for most of the summer. We did have a break in the heat this past week with temperatures in the 80’s, but we are back to the 90’s. Humidity is high and we are experiencing a drought. I do experience a lot of dew as temperatures drop overnight. My hips do remain uncovered, but will be remedied with a greenhouse next year. My spray program is primarily for black spot and botrytis. I am having this problem with all varieties with Crystalline being hit especially hard. My rot problem actually started early at about 63 days from cross and has continued all summer.
Do rose fruits get spot anthracnose? Could this be what is going on here?
I do not believe that it is Spot Anthracnose. The hips are rotting form the inside out. I cut open a hip this weekend and found white fungal growth starting on the seeds. If anything I would speculate yeast spot organism caused by stink bugs.