Great Photos. Not a Rosearian, but like the beauty, fragance, and hips of Roses. Have 325 Rugosa bare roots ordered that should be here in early Feb. 06. Live down in Prunedale, N. of Salinas. In planting, what procedures, precautions, etc. would you suggest to maximize those charastic that are liked without a lot of extra expense? We have a gopher, mole, ground squirrel problem. Do they like Roses? thanks kb@mybizol.com

Thanks for the link. I ran across that site last year. Great pictures of hips. I'm finding the variation in hips and leaves and stems and prickles almost as fascinating as the flower itself.
I like the rest of that site too. Great flower and bush and garden pictures and honest commentary.

Thanks Dr. Kuska for those pics..I just noticed today my Climbing 4th of Julys have the rose hips. Please tell me what is the purpose for them (please pardon my ignorance on this subject). My husband thought that I should pick them off the tree.

Thanks..
Marta

Q.: What are Rose Hips?

A.: Hips are the fruit of the rose, they develop from pollinated flowers. Hips can be anywhere from pea-sized up to the size of a small apple. They vary in size, shape and colour (yellow, orange, maroon, red) by the particular rose variety - some rose varieties don't set hips at all.

When you deadhead a rose, you are preventing hips from forming from the spent flowers -- this is done to encourage more bloom. Once hips are set, the rose cuts back on blooming and puts it energy into fruit formation.

Leaving attractive hips on a rose over the winter gives some colour to a winter garden. It is said that hips provide winter food for birds, .....

Rose hips are high in Vitamin C, and some people use them in teas. Be aware though that the inside of the hip has stiff hairs around the seeds that are irritating (think nettles or fiberglass slivers) so eating raw is not recommended. Of course, do not choose for culinary use hips or petals from any rose unless you know for certain that they have not been sprayed with fungicide or insecticide. Some fungicides are systemic, which means they are absorbed into the tissues of the plant - these cannot be removed by washing.

copied From
http://www.everyrose.com/everyrose/lore.lasso

The rose seeds are inside them, BeeVee.

Thanks to you both. I just couldn't believe the rose hips I saw in so many of my roses. If the seeds are inside, what can I do with those seeds? Can they be planted? Please excuse any of these questions that seem so ignorant, but I am a rosaholic (bought close to 600 since March)and now want to learn to propagate them.

I will read a lot of Dr. Kuska's research.

Yes, they can be planted - I'd look around here and other places to see just how they do it as I'm just experimenting myself this yr.

However, it is important to note that even if the pollen came from the same plant as the one that set the hip it will not produce the same exact rose unless it is a species rose. That is what makes it interesting for me - never know what you get - however I liked the way Weeks explained their process.

Here is a link that might be useful: Weeks slide show