I did end up with about a dozen hips from this plant - not many seeds per hip. It has started putting out growth again in the cooler weather. I've decided to give it another year to see what happens. The pollen is also at least somewhat fertile and has been used in various crosses this year.

June 2010: Very heavy blooming on the arbor, but growth has stopped. Most of the hips aborted. The plant does have very viable pollen - so it could be used. It is moderately suseptible to black spot, however, and is not very tolerant of alkaline conditions. I have used in a good may crosses this year, so it is possible the genetic material can be moved forward - but this one is also begining to look like a dead end as well.