How to Germinate Seeds From a Rose Seedpod
If you grow roses, you have probably noticed the red or orange fruit, referred to as rose hips, that forms once flowers are spent and blooming ceases. You may think their only purpose is to provide you with delicious rose hip tea, but there is another more important function of these fleshy fruits. Each contains several hard, dark seeds capable of producing a new rose bush. Although they do not reproduce true to form, the resulting rose may be a new variety that surpasses the beauty or fragrance of the original plant. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Knife
- Household bleach
- Glass
- Plastic food storage bag
- Peat moss
- Plant starting trays/cells
- Seed starter
- Plant pots
- Water-soluble fertilizer
Instructions
-
-
1
Cut rose hips from the bush after the first hard frost. Hips may be mushy or may still maintain a firm shape.
-
2
Open the rose hips by cutting with a knife or pulling apart with your hands. Remove the seeds and discard the pulp.
-
-
3
Place the seeds in a container filled with 1 teaspoon of household bleach to 8 ounces of water. The bleach kills any bacteria or disease organisms and the water cleans away any excess pulp. Allow to soak overnight.
-
4
Remove and rinse the seeds. Place moist peat moss and the rose seeds in a plastic container or food storage bag so the seeds are covered with moss. Close the container.
-
5
Store in the refrigerator at 35 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 to 60 days to stratify the seeds. Exposure to cold temperatures is referred to as stratification and is needed for rose seeds to germinate.
-
6
Place the seeds under grow lights suspended 6 to 8 inches above the top of the tray for 16 hours a day to germinate the seeds. Germination time varies, but seedlings typically appear in 14 to 21 days. Keep the soil moist.
-
7
Transplant to individual pots once seedlings develop the second set of true leaves. Continue to grow under grow lights.
-
8
Fertilize with water-soluble fertilizer mixed to 1/4 strength (to avoid damaging young roots) once a week.
-
9
Transplant to the outside once the danger of frost has passed. Keep soil moist until new growth appears. Once established, water once a week to saturate the soil to the root level.
-
1
