For centuries, rose-growers have obtained new and wonderful varieties of roses by crossing one with another, sowing the seeds from the crosses, and then waiting to see what developed. For all the millions of crosses that have been made over the years, there are perhaps as few as twenty to thirty thousand varieties that we know about. In an attempt to try to better understand the process, I shall attempt to raise at least one rose from a seed and will share the experience with you. It's Fall and rose hips are turning shades of red and orange.

1. Collect some ripened hips from roses in the garden

How can you tell when a hip is ripe? Look at the stem. The part of the stem that is attached to the hip. It will change color. When that happens, the hip is ripe. (If temperatures drop much below 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the hips are not yet ripened, Dr. Henry Kuska recommends cutting the stem with at least one set of leaves and storing it in a vase of water on a sunny window sill until the hips ripen.)

In Hardy Roses: An Organic Guide to Growing Frost- and Disease-Resistant Varieties, Robert Osborne says another way to determine if a hip is ripe is to open it and check out the color of the seeds. White or very light tan seeds are immature. Deep tan to brown-colored seeds are the ones you want!

Here's what I did: Armed with this knowledge, I went out into the garden and started collecting hips that looked like they were ripe enough, keeping them separated in plastic baggies by variety. The roses I chose were 'James Mason', 'Lilian Austin', 'Fourth of July', 'Crimson Gallica', and 'New Dawn'.

Peter Beales introduced 'James Mason' in the early '80s as a Gallica, but it's actually more of a Gallica Hybrid having as parents 'Scharlachglut' (half Gallica) and 'Tuscany Superb' (full-fledged Gallica). 'James Mason' makes a large, vigorous shrub which sends out clones of itself all over the place -- definitely not a good candidate for the smaller garden. It has fragrant, rather large, single, red blossoms that are followed by dark red hips.

David Austin introduced 'Lilian Austin' in the early 70s. With its large, loosely formed, salmon-pink blooms, 'Lilian Austin' is a little different than many other "English Roses". But it makes a wonderful, healthy garden rose and is almost continuously in bloom.

'Fourth of July' is Tom Carruth's much-raved-about, recent introduction. A powerhouse of a red-and-white striped climber!

The Antique Rose Emporium included "Crimson Gallica" in its catalog a few years ago. It's a Found Rose and, as far as I know, no one has identified it for certain. It may not even be a Gallica. But it is very beautiful. I've trained "Crimson Gallica" around a pillar and, when it blooms in June, that pillar is covered from top to bottom in large, full, pink blossoms.

'New Dawn' is a veritable institution by now. Mike Lowe says it's "ubiquitous"! It has light pink fragrant blossoms and sets small dark red hips.

2. What to do with the hips once you've picked them

Well, depending on which authority you consult, you separate the seeds from the hips and store them, either in damp seed soil/peat moss mix or moistened paper towels, in warmth and then cold over a period of months. This step is called stratification. You can also plant them in the garden or a cold frame.

William Paul described the process, back in 1910, in The Rose Garden. "The seeds... should be laid out in the sun and air to dry, and when sufficiently dried it is easy to rid them of their pulp and external covering..."

Dr. Kuska says, "Stratification can be accomplished by placing the cleaned seeds on a moist paper towel in a zip lock type polyethylene plastic bag, and storing it at room temperature for about 2 months and then storing for an additional 2 months in the refrigerator."

Alternatively, both Robert Osborne and Bob Byrne recommend placing sealed bags of seeds and soil mix in the refrigerator for two to four months.

In The Old Rose Advisor, there's an interesting quote from Monsieur Jacques, gardener at the Château de Neuilly, about how gardeners grew roses from seeds back in the early 1800s. Monsieur Jacques had received some hips in October or November 1819, "at the end of November, I sowed all the seeds in hot-beds... Come spring, five individuals came up and, after having been pricked out, raised in pots, and having passed the winter in a cold-frame, two bloomed and rebloomed well enough in the spring of 1821; one had semi-double flowers of a brilliant pink, and served that same year as a model for Redouté's picture, and was then propagated under the name 'Rosier de Bourbon'; the other was also propagated, but wasn't drawn."

Here's what I did: After separating the seeds from the hips, I carefully cleaned them. (Dr. Kuska maintains that germination is inhibited if any of the flesh of the hip is left on the seeds.) Light-colored seeds were discarded. I put the 'James Mason' seeds in a damp seed soil/peat moss mix and a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator. The other seeds were placed on damp paper towels in plastic bags and will sit out at room temperature for two months prior to being put in the refrigerator.

In another week or so, I'll try to pick some more hips and to plant some in seed flats to test that idea as well.

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In addition to Dr. Henry Kuska's site, you can also find out more about growing roses from seeds by contacting the Rose Hybridizers Association. The Rose Hybridizers Association attempts to emphasize the "fun" aspect of rose hybridizing and to encourage in rosarians the adoption of this exciting new dimension in their rose-growing activities. The primary purpose of RHA is to make hybridizing information available to members and to provide materials and services which will aid them in their work.