Growing Roses From Seed

Growing roses from seed is not difficult, but not suitable for every rose

As soon as you got addicted to roses and have grown some striking examples, it will itch in every true Rosarians fingers to propagate these roses.

The majority of garden roses are hybrids, formed as a result of careful pairing certain genetic traits of breeding specimens.

Of course, you can try to grow them, but I am sorry to say that they won’t come true from seeds.

That will leave us three choices:

1. As you will never get the same flower out of the seeds of a hybrid rose, try to create a new variety of rose.
2. Raise Species roses or Rugosa Roses grown for their hips. They will produce offspring that are the same as their parent.
3. Buy rose hip seeds here. It is an inexpensive and funny experience for those who love roses.

Easy Steps To Growing Roses From Seed

The seeds that you will find in the hips of your roses in fall form the basis for your new roses. They are already pollinated and will be ready to pick off when they change their color from green to red or orange and will appear slightly soft to the touch.

• Carefully split open the hip with a sharp knife, taking care not to damage the seeds. Remove them tenderly on a piece of damp kitchen paper towel
• Fold the paper up and place it into a plastic bag
• Put the bag with the seeds into the bottom of a refrigerator

After two months of cold, moist storage, called stratification, the seed will be ready to sprout. Be prepared that not all the seeds will germinate.

• Remove the seeds from their packaging and sow them in a shallow pot (3-4 inches) containing seed compost. Cover the seeds with a layer of ¼ inch seed compost.
• Keep them warm and moist (not soggy) and find a sunny windowsill or place them under lights to encourage germination.

It will take 6-8 weeks for the seedlings to bloom. At this stage, you will see what you have gotten.

•  Decide what is worth keeping and dispose of the diseased and ugly flowers.
• Carefully transplant the rest of the seedlings, when they are about 3-4 inches tall, into a larger pot. Be careful not to touch the sensitive roots and take plenty of the surrounding soil along the roots.

Using a fungicide, such as Captan 50% fungicide, will prevent diseases at this early growing stage.

It can take a long time (2-5 years) until the first blooms will appear on roses grown from seed, but you will be rewarded for your efforts.