Rose gardeners know about rose hips. They know them as the marble-sized growths that occur on the end of a cane when a bloom has faded. Other folks have probably encountered the term in health food stores. Both are right: rose hips are a popular herbal tea, and they show up on some of our rose bushes. Thomas Jefferson, horticulturist extraordinaire, grew several hipped roses, including Rosa laevigata, cinnamonea, gallica, spinosissima, eglanteria and pendulina. And as we shall discover, he had very distinct reasons for doing so.

Let's connect the dots and try to discover more about hips and some reasons to choose to grow hipped roses. The reddish "fruit" of a rose is commonly known as its hip, and is derived from the Anglo-Saxon hiope. Botanically speaking, however, the hip is considered a false fruit -- the real fruits are inside. Rose hips are formed when the tip of a rose stem swells up -- after a flower has faded. The true fruits of the rose are not the plump hips we see on the plant, but the small, dry, hard seeds (called achenes) found within the hip.

When rosehips first appear, they are hard and green. As they mature, they develop their orange, red, brown or purple coloration and soften. Birds are attracted to and eat the ripened hips, but cannot digest the achenes. As a consequence, they disperse them in their droppings. If favorable conditions exist, at least a few new rose seedlings will sprout from them. Wild roses depend entirely upon birds for propagation.

Not all roses have noticeable hips. Species roses, shrub roses, ramblers and other roses that are"close to nature" (R. gallica, R. centifolia, R. rugosa) are the most likely to have noticeable hips. Since these roses are cultivated, they are propagated by cuttings, not grown from seed like the wild roses.

Because most roses with hips are vigorous species roses or their near hybrids, they are an easy group of roses to grow successfully. Most hipped roses are winter-hardy. Many, such as the rugosas, are also highly pest- and disease-resistant. There are four reasons for selecting hipped roses for your garden: ecological, ornamental, culinary, and medicinal -- in addition to the usual factors for selecting roses -- habit, foliage, bloom attributes, fragrance,and so forth.

If you're interested in taking the plunge and growing roses for their hips, you'll have a pleasurable task ahead of you. Selecting a rose is such fun! Growing wild or nearly-wild roses can be a boon to wildlife, providing food (the hips) and shelter (a hiding place from predators and a spot for nesting). Mockingbirds and Cedar Waxwings are just two of the birds that feed on hips.

Creating a natural habitat can help to preserve birds and animal species that are threatened. It doesn't just help the critters, though. A natural habitat means more songbirds to greet you every morning. It means fewer insects to gobble your favorite flowers, veggies and fruit, ruin your picnics, buzz around your head, and bite you on the nose. It will lead to better soil, safer surroundings, interesting volunteers in your flower garden, and the sights and sounds of wings in flight.

A few additional suggestions for creating a natural habitat:
* Along with wild roses, plant native wildflowers, ornamental grasses, fruit trees, berry bushes and conifers. Complex, mixed plantings and a wide variety of species work wonders in attracting wildlife. In general, the more naturalized, the better.
* Leave dead trees in place, planting a vigorous rose or vine nearby that will grow up onto it. Let a few dead limbs or branches lie on the ground; the insects they attract will in turn attract birds.
* Use a lot of shrubby and vining plants to provide cover. Groundcovers provide a blanket of protection to the little guys in the garden.
* Set out feeders, nesting boxes and a birdbath or water feature. You'll be glad you did.

Hipped roses are valuable ornamentals, in or out of the yard. Here are some ideas for landscape effects using hipped roses:
* The small, rounded, bronzy leaves of R. reversa dotted with bunches of large, dark red, shiny hips against white wood siding.
* The blue-green foliage and bright orange hips of R.moyesii fronting a stone wall adorned with thymes, sedums, and creeping phlox.
* R. glauca's bright scarlet hips, bronzy-gray foliage and purplish stems on gray, weathered siding.
* A simultaneous season-long crop of bright orange hips along with the brilliant pink blooms of 'Old Blush' or the pristine white ruffled blooms of 'Blanc Double de Coubert' in a mixed border.
* The tiny, dark green, rounded, ferny leaves of R. pimpinellifolia speckled with tiny, red-black hips against a pastel-colored stucco wall.
* The large clusters of tiny, brilliant red hips of R. woodsii fendlerii, R. helenae, or R. pendulina against a backdrop of dazzling white snow.

There are many possibilities for using rose hips to decorate your home as well as your yard. Orange hips can be used for autumn arrangements; red hips, for Christmas. Spray them with fixative or dip in wax to make them last longer.

For autumn arrangements, use rose hips that are set among colorful fall foliage or stems (R. cinnamomea, glauca, nitida, virginiana or xanthina, 'La Belle Sultane'). Use the huge hips of R. macrophylla or R. roxburghii in arrangements of fruit, as a substitute for crabapples. Or combine rose hips with other fall berries, vines and flowers for bouquets or wreaths. Clusters of rose hips can be used as a garnish on Thanksgiving platters, to create napkin rings, corsages, candle rings or swags. Use the tastier rosehips in your cranberry sauce or stuffing.

In the winter, red rose hips spark up cuttings of evergreen boughs and holly. Tie them onto the branches of your Christmas tree with ribbons, or tie them onto gift packages. Create a swag or garland using pine cuttings, red camellias, and red rose hips. Create tiny corsages of rose hips and mistletoe. Combine rose hips with boxwood and other evergreens and berries to create wreaths or cones. Or use them as a garnish on platters and trays of food.

If you'd like to grow hips for food or herbal preparations, you may be wondering which kind to use. R. gallica, eglanteria and canina are the preferred hips for taste and nutritional value, but the best overall is R. rugosa. The first three set their hips in autumn, when the bloom season is over, but R. rugosa sets fruit all season long. Rugosa hips are not only very tasty, but are easier to process because of their large size. If you do want to use the other hips, you may want to wait to collect them until repeated frosts have mellowed them. This is a risky tactic, though, because you may lose them to the birds or to fermentation if you wait even a little too long! If you grow R. roxburghii or pomifera hips, you'll have a more substantial fruit; these can be prepared in the same way as crabapples.

Rose hips are tart and mild-flavored. Sugar (and red rose petals, if available) improves their flavor. Wherever and whenever a garden fruit is scarce, rose hips can be used in its place. Why not combine rose hips with cranberries, apples, plums or pears for desserts? Their flavor is delicate and they impart a rosy pink tint. Historically, rose hips have been made into jams and jellies, tarts, sauces, and wines. The herbalist John Gerard assures us that "the fruit when it is ripe maketh the most pleasante meats and banketting dishes as tartes and such-like..." But why bother preparing such a small fruit of such modest flavor? The answer is a letter, the letter C.

Rose hips contain more Vitamin C than any other fruit and also contain valuable trace elements including calcium, phosphorus, iron, Vitamin A, riboflavin, Vitamins D, E, and K, citric and malic acid, bioflavonoids, fructose, sucrose, tannins, pectin, resin, maleates, citrates and other salts.

Recent research indicates that the phenols contained by rose hips strengthen cell walls and prevent bleeding. Rose hips' extremely high levels of Vitamin C are necessary for the formation of collagen essential for cell repair. Vitamin C helps to utilize iron, and decreases the risk of cancer and arthritis.

Another famous herbalist, Nicholas Culpepper, wrote that "a conserve made of the fruit of the Wild or Dog Rose is very pleasant and of considerable efficacy for common colds and coughs." In his words, hips are 'grateful to the taste and a considerable restorative, fitly given to consumptive persons, the conserve being proper in all distempers of the breast and in coughs and tickling rheums.' They have 'a binding effect and help digestion' and can 'break the stone and to ease and help the colic.'

Rose hip preparations have been used a remedy for many medical conditions, including coughs, colds, congestion, fever, influenza, sore throat, bleeding gums, eczema and other skin diseases, inflammations, infections, kidney and bladder problems, hemorrhoids, diarrhea, dysentery, fatigue, nervousness and stress. They have also been used for treating womens' ailments and for healing wounds.

The verified medicinal properties of rosehips are many and impressive; rosehips are astringent, tonic, laxative, diuretic, immune strengthening, and anti-inflammatory.

How to Use the Following Lists

Species and species hybrids form the largest group of hipped roses. [Species roses are wild, or native roses]. The presence of hips is an integral factor in making a selection of a species rose. If you are serious about choosing hipped roses for landscaping, decorative arrangements, culinary, or medicinal uses, you will find whatever you need among these roses. To make your selection, you may want to consider the size, shape and color of the hips. Attractive flowers and foliage are a bonus, particularly when foliage forms a pleasant contrasting backdrop for the hips, as with R.moyesii, R. glauca or R. pimpinellifolia.

On the other hand, the occurence of hips in cultivated roses is less usual, though there are Roses such as 'Alba semi-plena', 'Old Blush', 'Buff Beauty', 'Don Juan', 'Angel Face', and the 'Apothecary's Rose' that have showy hips. These are good garden roses with many good attributes. If you want to experiment with hipped roses, these are good startups. (Shrub roses, ramblers, Hybrid Rugosas and Hybrid Musks are closer to their origins and are more likely to feature hips than the highly bred Hybrid Teas, Grandifloras and Floribundas).

Hipped Species Roses (and their hybrids)

R. acicularis - shiny, dark red, urn-shaped hips
R. alba (See Hipped Garden Roses below)
R. arvensis ('Field Rose') - oval, red hips
R. bracteata ('McCartney Rose') - round, orange-red hips. Extremely thorny.
R. californica (and R. californica plena) - present a good display of round, bright red, 1/2" hips.
R. canina ('The Dog Rose') - yields a huge crop of long, shiny, oval, scarlet hips. Good-tasting too. 'Dog Rose' hips are grown commercially for culinary/medicinal purposes. The best all-around choice for hips: 'Abbotswood' - orange-red hips; 'Andersonii' - good crop of small, oval, bright orange-red hips; 'Hibernica'.
R. cantabrigiensis - tiny, solitary, bright red hips
R. cinnamomea - round, 1/2" scarlet hips on reddish-brown canes
R. davidii - slim, bristly, urn-shaped hips of bright orange-red
R. dupontii - large, round, golden-orange hips
R. eglanteria ('Eglantine') and its hybrids - its masses of long-lasting, bright red, oval hips are prickly but flavorful. Good for medicinal uses. An outstanding hipped rose. 'Amy Robsart' - good crop of round, scarlet hips; 'Anne of Geierstein' - lots of hips; 'Lucy Ashton' - an excellent display of crimson hips; 'Meg Merrillies' - an abundant display of scarlet hips
R. farreri persetosa - numerous, small, orange-red hips that grow directly along stem
R. fedtschenkoana - long, pear-shaped, bright red, hairy hips
R. filipes - very small, red, oval hips that hang in clusters
R. forrestiana - small, urn-shaped, bright red, bristly hips
R. gallica - pretty, large, round, dark red hips. Good for culinary uses.
R. gigantea - extremely large, round hips (crabapple-sized) used as a fruit
R. gentiliana - fine display of light red hips
R. glauca - great bunches of small, round, cherry-red hips on purplish-red stems, nicely contrasting with its purple and gray foliage
R. glutinosa - urn-shaped, light red, angularly-placed hips
R. helenae -; sets large quantities of small, oval, orange-red, gracefully suspended hips
R. holodonta - long, flask-shaped, scarlet hips
R. hugonis - scarlet-red hips
R. macrantha - long-lasting, round red hips
R. macrophylla - gracefully-displayed, large, urn-shaped, orange- red, bristly 1" hips in huge amounts. 'Master Hugh' -- the same as above, except that the hips are exceptionally large, like crabapples; the biggest hips of any rose.
R. majalis - (See R. cinnamonea)
R. microphylla - (See R. roxburghii)
R x micrugosa [R. rugosa x R. roxburghii] - round, bristly, orange-red hips
R. mollis - mid-sized, radish-shaped, radish-red, pendant, solitary hips
R. moyesii and its hybrids set beautiful, long, urn-shaped, orange-red hips backed by fine, blue-green foliage. (The flowers are favored by bees). 'Cherry Red'; fargesii - even larger hips; 'Fred Streeter' - smaller hips; 'Geranium' - large hips; 'Highdownensis' - beautiful, orange-red hips; 'Hillieri' - large, urn-shaped but sparse hips; 'Sealing Wax' - beautiful, bristly, shiny, scarlet hips; 'Wintoniensis' - beautiful, bristly, orange-red hips
R. mulliganii - small, orange-red hips
R. multiflora - small, oval red hips. 'Russelliana'; 'Trier' - loaded with tiny red hips
R. nitida - small, round, bright red, bristly hips accent shiny, narrow, serrated leaves that turn maroon in autumn
R. nutkana - a substantial display of long-lasting, round hips
R. pendulina - offers a showy display of 1" long, suspended, shiny, bright red pear-shaped hips
R. pimpinellifolia ('Burnet Rose' / 'Scotch Rose') and its hybrids - have wide red-black hips against plentiful tiny leaves. (The juice of the ripe fruit has been used in the preparation of a peach-colored dye for silks and muslins. Mixed with alum, it creates a beautiful violet color). 'Altaica' round, black hips; lutea maxima - round, black hips; 'Ormiston Roy' - large, dark red hips; 'Mrs. Colville' - narrow, oval hips of red-black; 'William III' -; small, round, dark-red hips
R. polyantha grandiflora - plentiful light red hips
R. pomifera ('Apple Rose') - very large, round, bristly crimson hips accent downy foliage, mossy stems and fuzzy galls, unique to this rose.(In the Middle Ages these Rose Galls, under the name of Bedeguar, were held in high repute for their medicinal powers). Duplex ('Woolley-Dod') - fewer and smaller hips
R. reversa - large, shiny, dark red bunches of hips against small, rounded, bronzy leaves
R. roxburghii and R. roxburghii normalis ('Burr Rose', 'Chestnut Rose', 'Chinquapin Rose') - large, round, very bristly hips on a rampant grower. (They are used in Chinese medicine to relieve indigestion).
R. rubiginosa - (see R. eglanteria)
R. rubrifolia - (see R. glauca)
R. rubus - good display of small orange-red hips
R. rugosa (see Hipped Garden Roses below)
R. sericea - Small, shiny, elongated, pear-shaped, red hips; 'Heather Muir' - small, orange-red hips
R. setigera ('Prairie Rose') - small, round, red hips
R. setipoda - numerous, very large, shiny, orange-red, urn- shaped, bristly hips in clusters
R. soulieana - showy bunches of small, oval, orange hips
R. spinossissima & its hybrids - small, black-red hips
R. stellata - 1/2" round, brown-red hips
R. sweginzowii - long, bristly, urn-shaped, shiny scarlet hips in clusters
R. villosa - see R. pomifera
R. virginiana - small, bright red, long-lasting hips adorn multi- colored fall foliage
R. webbiana - narrow, urn-shaped, 3/4" hips, in a pretty display
R. wichuriana - good crop of small, oval, dark red hips; porterifolia - sets tiny red hips in abundance; variegata - red hips contrast with splashes of white on leaves
R. wilmottiae - 1/2" pear-shaped, orange-red hips
R. woodsii fendlerii - small, round, shiny, bright red hips in large clusters
R. xanthina 'Canary Bird' - dark red hips along red-brown canes.

Hipped Garden Roses by Class

Alba
Alba maxima - oval hips
Alba semiplena - a large crop of red hips
'Suaveolens'

Austin
'Peach Blossom' - multitudes of hips
'Windrush'

Bourbon
'Gypsy Boy' - small, orange-red hips
'Louise Odier'
'Queen of Bourbons' - a good crop

China
'Old Blush' - large, orange, oval hips

Damask
'St. Nicholas'

Gallica
'Complicata' [R. gallica & R. canina] - long, oval, scarlet hips
'Empress Josephine'
R. gallica - pretty, large, round, dark red hips. Good for culinary uses.

Hybrid Musk
'Ballerina' - clusters of tiny orange hips
'Bishop Darlington' - angularly-set, large hips
'Buff Beauty' - a good display of hips
'Danae' - a good crop of small, reddish-orange hips
'Kathleen' - orange hips
'Penelope' - large crop of large, orange hips in an angular presentation
'Will Scarlet' - large orange-red, long-lasting hips

Moss
'Henri Martin'

Ramblers and Climbers
'Altissimo' - large, round red hips
'Bobbie James' - small, oval hips
'Don Juan' - large, round, showy, orange hips
'Dortmund'
'Mme. Gregoire Staechelin' / 'Spanish Beauty'
'Paul's Himalyan Musk' - small, oval hips
'Rambling Rector' - numerous small hips
'The Garland' - small, oval hips
'Kew Rambler' - small, orange-red hips

Rugosa
'Belle Poitevine' - huge, rosy red hips
'Blanc Double de Coubert' - sparse, bright orangey-red hips
'Calocarpa' - a good display of orange-red hips
'Caporosso' - excellent display of hips
'Dart's Dash' - large, globular hips
'Frau Dagmar Hastrup' - a fruitful producer of very large, dark red hips
'Hansa' - very large, shiny, orange hips. Good for culinary uses.
'Henry Hudson' - a good hip producer
'Magnifica' - very large and showy orange hips
'Moje Hammarberg' - good hip producer
The Pavement series
Rosa rugosa alba - very large, round, orange hips throughout the growing season
Rosa rugosa [rubra] - very large, round, orange hips good for culinary/medicinal uses
'Scabrosa' - Large, bright, cherry red hips in quantity
'Schneezwerg' - numerous, small, bright scarlet hips
'Therese Bugnet' - quantities of small, bright red hips

Shrub
'Angel Face' - large, showy, tasty hips
'Autumn Fire' - attractive, very large scarlet hips
'Basye's Blueberry' - plentiful, round, shiny, orange hips
'Bonica' - bright orange hips
'Bonn' - dark red hips
'Carefree Beauty'
'Charles Albanel' - lots of attractive fuits
'Cherry Meidiland'
'Flammentanz' - oval to round hips
'Fritz Nobis' - long-lasting, dark red hips
'Fruhlingsanfang' - brown-red hips
'George Vancouver'
'Harvest Fayre'
'Jacqueline du Pre' - light orange, oval hips
'La Sevillana'
'Morden Centennial'
'Nymphenburg' - large, orange hips
'Pink Meidiland'
'Pleine de Grace' - masses of tiny orange hips
'Ralph's Creeper' - round, orange-red hips
'Scarlet Fire' - long-lasting, large, attractive, pear-shaped, orange-red hips
'The Gift' - little, orange-red hips

Hybrid Tea and Floribunda
'Dainty Bess' - large, attractive hips
'Lichterloh' - large, round, bright orange hips
'Orangeade' - large, orange hips

SOURCES
Austin, David. Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses
Druitt, Liz. The Organic Rose Garden
Grieve, Mrs. M. A. Modern Herbal (www.botanical.com)
Lust, John. The Herb Book
Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Roses
Rohde, Eleanor Sinclair. Rose Recipes from Olden Times
Shepherd, Roy E. History of the Rose
Springer, Lauren. "Roses for Hips"
Country Living Gardener. Sept/Oct, 1998.