Growing roses from seed can be challenging, since the majority of seeds you collect often won't germinate regardless of your efforts. Fortunately, most rose plants produce a large quantity of seeds inside their rose hips, so it usually isn't necessary to achieve a high success rate. Keep in mind that the plants that grow may be different in appearance or other characteristics from the mother plant, especially if that plant is a hybrid of two varieties grafted together.
STEP 1 : Harvesting Seeds
Allow rose hips to develop by leaving dead flowers on the plant. The flowers are typically pollinated by insects, or pollinate themselves in some varieties, so there is no need to pollinate by hand unless you are breeding specific plants together. Leave the flowers on the rose plant without cutting them. After they wither, small fruits known as rose hips will develop in their place.
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2
Remove the rose hips once ripe.
The rose hips will start out small and green, then change color as they grow until they are completely red, orange, brown, or purple. You may pick them at this point, or wait until they are just beginning to dry out and wrinkle. Don't wait until they are fully dry and brown, as the seeds inside may have died by this point.
3
Cut the hips open and remove the seeds.
Cut open the rose hips with a knife, revealing the seeds inside. Pull these out with the knife tip or any other utensil.
- The number of seeds in each rose hip varies greatly between rose varieties. There may only be a few per rose hip, or several dozen.
PART 2-Germinating Seeds
1
Soak the seeds in diluted hydrogen peroxide (optional). A mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide may reduce the growth of mold on the seeds. Stir 1.5 teaspoons (7 mL) of 3% hydrogen peroxide into 1 cup (240 mL) water.[2] Keep the rose seeds in this solution for at least one hour.
- Some studies suggest that a little mold growth can actually help break down the casing surrounding the seed, but this treatment is still recommended to prevent mold growth in larger amounts.
- A light dusting of anti-fungal powder for plants is an alternative to this step.
2
Place the seeds in a damp material. Rose seeds typically won't sprout unless they are kept in cold, wet conditions, mimicking a winter environment. Place the seeds between two layers of lightly dampened paper towels, or in a container of dampened salt-free river sand, peat moss, or vermiculite.
- This is the first step in a process called stratification. If you are using store-bought seeds and the label says they are already stratified, skip to the planting seeds section below.
3
Leave the seeds in the fridge for several weeks. Put the seeds and moist material in a plastic bag or seedling tray in a plastic bag or seedling trays, and keep them in a cold area of a refrigerator, such as an otherwise empty crisper drawer.
- Do not keep them in same area of the refrigerator as fruit or vegetables, which can release chemicals that prevent the seeds from developing.
4
Keep the seed medium slightly damp. Check at least once or twice a week to see whether a sprout has emerged from the seed casing. Add a few drops of water to each paper towel whenever they begin to dry out. Depending on the rose variety and individual seeds, the seeds could take anywhere from four to sixteen weeks to germinate. Often, 70% or more of the seeds never sprout at all.