Ian,

I tried starting some roses from seeds last year...for the first time. I had really good results with getting the seeds to germinate and to grow into small bushes. I have to say, however, that out of my 65+ seedlings, I haven't seen the first flower yet. I may have a preponderance of once bloomers (which is fine with me). Just the other day I planted two more flats of seeds. I use the MiracleGro seed starter mix, plant the seeds (once removed from hips, of course)in seed starting flats,, and place the "flat" into an opaque Rubbermaid storage box. I bottom water; drain off the excess water, put the lid on the container, and stack them in my unheated front sunroom. I really forget about them for a couple of months. It worked last year. I hope it works again. I'm expanding the number of varieties I'm trying this season.

Good luck

Robert

Oooh, Robert... Nice! I'll have to try it!

If I have a seedling that does not bloom the first season, it usually turns out to be a climber. I believe the suitable temperature for germination on rose seeds is 50 -60 degrees. This is what I go by..., Stratify at 35-50; Germinate at 50-60 and Grow at 60-70. I stay in this range of temps and it has worked well for me.
I like your set up for your seeds Robert. What do you mean by bottom water?

Bottom watering. I simply fill the bottom of the rubbermaid storage box with about an inch or so of water, place the flat with the soil/seeds in it on top of the water, and let the soil soak up the water. Then I drain off the excess water. I don't water each individual cell of the flat, mostly because I am afraid the seeds will get washed away.

I hadn't thought that the seedlings from non-climbers would be climbers. Most of my hips last year came from Henri Martin, Frau Dagmar Hastrupp, Hansa, Darlow's Enigma,William Lobb and Complicata. Henri Martin's offspring are my favorites so far. The little shrublets seem to have great disease resistance and interesting shape and foliage.

Robert

Thanks Robert for replying back to my question. I will have to try this with my seeds.

I don't get many climbers but at least 2 or 3 in each season, and it does not matter if the parents are climbers. I have a climber now from Neptune X Scentimental and a mini climber from JFK X Bronze Star.
They pop up every once in a while. I sometimes can get them to bloom the first season by taking off a few leaflets and cutting the cane down about 2 inches right above a 5 leaf set. Are your hips from crosses or are they open pollinated? The roses you have listed are all very nice roses, I especially like Hansa. Post some pictures of your seedling blooms if you can.

All of my seedlings are open pollinated as of now. I may try to pollinate some next year. It's funny that you have mentioned Hansa. That is the weakest of all the roses from which I got hips, and its offspring are the weakest. I think I have a bad clone of Hansa.

I am fairly sure that most of the seedlings are not climbers. They are certainly growing like little bushes. They've just not had any flowers yet.

I have expanded my efforts considerably this season. I've probably tripled the number of "mother" roses that I'm trying.

It's inexpensive, not terribly time consuming, and it keeps me off the streets.

Robert

Miracle Gro has a product out now, its called Bloom Buster or Booster, it really works well, I tried it several times and it really gave my seedlings a boost, lol. Try it next season on your seedlings, maybe it will get them to bloom.
Yea roses definitely keep you busy, its a great hobby. It keeps me out of the stores (shopaolic) but it doesn't keep me from spending money.

Ramblin, it's funny...I never really spent much money until I got into roses. Now I don't even thing twice about dropping a few hundred dollars for a bunch of roses...it's been a great journey for me.

Robert

Last year I didn't get very good germination rates after refrigerating my seeds for a few months. This year I harvested most of the seeds in September. I have two refrigerators..one is half broken. The freezer side works ok as a fridge but the fridge side is merely cool. I put my seedlings in the cool side and when I checked them about a week ago I found most of them were germinating. The seeds I put in my cold fridge had not germinated at all.

erasmus,

My seeds never germinated inside the refrigerator. It was only after I took them out of it and planted them that they germinated. I'm very new to this.

My seeds for this season are starting to sprout! Some of them are already developing the true rose leaves. It's an exciting time.

Robert