If you've never grown your own roses from seeds, let the season inspire you, and consider trying this in your own garden.
Now is the time to let a few rose hips remain on your roses anyway, as that constant deadheading signals the rose to make more flowers. This is great in Summer, but as cooler weather comes upon us, it's time to let the rose slow down, turning to its own internal clock, preparing for the winter ahead.
When you grow a rose from a seed, and that's what rose hips are, you have a rose unlike any seen before or any that will be seen after. Why? Because of the same reason there is only one of you: genetics.
Not every rose grown will be a prize winner, or even a winner, as so many variables are at work with rose breeding. Frankly, I don't really care if my rose ever makes it to rose trials or even that elusive dream of some rose breeders: commercial production. I know that my rose is unique to my garden, and none like it exists anywhere.
There is controlled breeding, where two parents are manually pollinated by a gardener acting as match-maker, and there is open-pollination, where the gardener stands back and lets nature take its course. Some rose breeders dismiss open pollinated roses, but I suspect it has more to do with the inability to track a rose's heritage than any real defect of the resulting rose.
I rather enjoy the mystery of what is going to pop up from a rose seed, and as I have no intention nor desire to market any, the rose hips I will harvest this year for seed are all open pollinated.
A fine link, and one containing two articles on growing roses from seeds may be found on the ARS page in the section called "Rose Propagation".
Rose genetics is a rather complex topic, but if you are interested in getting into the particulars and perhaps breeding for a particular characteristic, as well as other fascinating articles, check out CybeRose. Once you get past the blinking hell of his splash page, the site is packed with terrific information, and faster than you can say Triploid Cytology, you'll be on your way to rose breeding.
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