I would gather more than likely, most will be from the bees pollinating. The best site IMO to learn from is rose hybridizers http://www.rosehybridizers.org/ it might take a little bit of learning on the genetic side. (Don't worry, I'm lost a lot and I have some books on it)It really does give you a whole different outlook on roses. Plus it can be a lot of fun on a bad weather day! Best of Luck!!!!

There's a good article by Malcolm Manners here on Paul Barden's website. I've successfully grown open pollinated (by bees or something other than me) roses using this technique. A couple things I'd add:

If you write the name of the mother rose on the paper towel with a sharpie before you wet it, you can keep track of your seeds and keep them all in one bag (roll them up in the paper towel like you're rolling a burrito.)

This is my second year growing from seed, and my seeds seemed to take a couple of months to get going--but once a particular batch of seeds started, it was like popcorn starting to pop--it was better to check every couple of days for new sprouts.

Even if the rose is self-pollenated, you won't get something exactly like it--just as you are different from your parents, brothers, and sisters, baby roses will differ from their parents to a small or large degree.

You might get lucky with a couple of seeds, but the more you start, the better luck you'll have at getting a plant you like. I had more than 100 babies this year, and only a small fraction look like they'll be something to keep. Professional breeders who are looking for something new and special find even fewer "keepers".

It's a VERY fun hobby. The only problem is finding space for both your babies and the roses you want to buy!

If you are new to rose gardening and have a lot of roses, you're probably going to have to spray them and/or use that bayer preventative stuff. Maybe you already knew that, but I'm just passing on the warning because I've been slowly expanding my rose collection and one of my groupings of bushes caught blackspot and I'm battling it now.

Growing roses from seeds is fun - I'm currently waiting for the first flower on my second seedling to open so I can see what color it is. :) I assume any wind-pollinated seeds I get are hybrids - if you want them to be self-pollinated then you should hand pollinate it and put a bag around the rose so bees can't get in. On the other hand if you want hybrids you can hand cross-pollinate them, and if you want to be rigorous about it you can 'castrate' the one you want to produce seeds by removing the anthers, then hand-pollinate, then bag so no other pollen can arrive.

My major difficulty has been getting the seeds to sprout - I'm just not patient enough to leave them in the refrigerator more than 4 months.

I have been working with open pollinated seedlings for a few years now. I am really enjoying this aspect to rose growing.

My "goal" in hybridizing is to produce roses that grow well in my garden in my no spray situation under my particular culture...basically plant and neglect. I seem to be having some really promising results at this point. I'm sure that the roses I am creating are NOT show quality, but they seem happy and bloom in my yard...especially some of the rugosa hybrids. I'm finding the seedlings to be much healthier, more vigorous, and more floriferous than their parent.

Robert

Robert,

You and I are on the same page. I'm looking for nice shrubs for my yard, that have pretty, healthy foliage without intensive care. Blooms are a bonus--as long as they have a decent form, from single on up, and are a color I like,they'll contribute to the garden. No show roses--unless they magically appear on one of my healthy little plants.

Thanks all. I'm excited to give it a try. I don't know what many of the roses are (no tags), but there are some real beauties.

Will be fun to see what comes up.

Lucretia,

It's nice to meet a kindred spirit. I spent some time on Thursday potting up some of my little OP seedlings. I've got a number of Belle Vichysoise noisettes that are blooming non-stop and only about 6 inches tall. They look healthy so far. Life is good.

rjlinva,

I bet your BV seedlings are great! I've got some misc. seedlings to pot up tomorrow. I've got a few gallica seedlings that are absolutely, perfectly clean--no mildew, no blackspot, the only thing affecting their looks right now is a little rose slug damage. Now if only they'll bloom next spring and have attractive flowers... The Lyda Rose seedlings are also doing very well. They seem to be like their mama in that they are covered with multiple buds at the same time.

westseattledeb,

it's not as fast as planting tomato seeds--some of my rugosa seedlings are from hips collected in 2008, and they haven't bloomed yet. I figure the trick is to do this every year, then after a few years you'll have new roses blooming every spring!