You don't necessarily have to buy beautiful roses for expensive money; instead, many types and varieties can be propagated yourself. Wild roses and wild rose hybrids can even be propagated via seeds - provided the selected rose develops rose hips.
How do I grow roses from seeds?
To grow roses from seeds, collect rose hips from wild roses or wild rose hybrids. Remove the pulp from the seeds, clean them, stratify and germinate them on damp paper towel. After germination, sow the seeds with the germination root facing down.
Collecting and sowing rose seeds
Naturally, propagation via seeds is only successful if the rose species sets fruit, which in turn reaches maturity in our latitudes and contains seeds. This is usually the case with almost all wild roses and wild rose hybrids, but very rarely with cultivated roses. You should remove the pulp from seeds you have collected yourself, clean them thoroughly and first subject them to stratification. Then germinate the seeds - not yet sown, but stored on a damp paper towel - although the majority of the seeds will probably not germinate. You need patience because rose seeds take several weeks to months to germinate. The seeds are only sown after germination, whereby the germ - the later root - has to be placed downwards.
Suitable types of roses for growing seeds
In the table below you will find an overview of wild roses and wild rose hybrids with particularly beautiful rose hips. Of course, the list does not claim to be complete; the number of different wild rose species and breeds is simply too extensive.
| German name | Latin name | Bloom | Flowering time | Growth height | Rosehips |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pike rose | Pink glauca | carmine red, white center | End of June | 200 to 300 cm | spherical, dark red |
| Chinese Gold Rose | Pink hugonis | soft light yellow | May | 180 to 240 cm | small |
| May Rose | Pink majalis | purple-carmine | May to June | 150 to 200 cm | small, spherical, very rich in vitamins |
| Mandarin Rose | Rosa moyesii | scarlet | June | 250 to 300 cm | bottle-shaped, scarlet |
| Gloss Rose | Pink nitida | bright pink, yellow stamens | End of June | 60 to 80 cm | small, red, round |
| Alpine hedge rose | Pink pendulina | soft pink, yellow stamens | End of May / June | 100 to 200 cm | large, red, bottle-shaped |
| Beavernell Rose | Pink pimpinellifolia | milk white, yellow stamens | May | up to 120 cm | flat-spherical, purple to brown-black |
| Hedgehog rose (chestnut rose) | Rosa roxburghii | soft pink to white | June | up to 200 cm | flat-spherical, green, spiked |
| Scottish Fence Rose | Pink rubiginosa | Pink with white center, yellow stamens | May to June | 200 to 300 cm | oval, bright red |
| Potato rose | Pink rugosa | white to violet-red depending on the variety | June to October | depending on the variety between 60 and 200 cm | mostly apple-shaped and orange-red |
| vinegar rose | Pink gallica | white to multicolored depending on the variety | June | about 50 cm | red |
| Apple Rose | Pink villosa | pure pink | June to July | 150 to 200 cm | large, apple-shaped, dark red |
Tip
The popular Rosa rugosa hybrid “Roseraie de l’Haÿ” develops a beautiful, bronze-colored autumn color, but no rose hips. This variety can be propagated by runners.
