As the gardens of Winterpast have gone into a deep sleep, my focus has now turned to areas in my yard that need some help. In 2023, I intend to pamper and better care for my existing roses while adding a few new bushes to the family. My father loved his rose garden, bringing a freshly cut rose to my mother every day.
In shopping online, I was amazed at the colors that are available. As I was looking at a royal blue rose, I realized they weren’t selling the actual bushes, but seeds. What? This cannot be! Any self-respecting gardener knows roses come from cuttings. At least that is what I believed for 66 years.
Immediately researching the subject, I had to shut my mouth and open my brain to a new concept.
Roses DO, in fact, have seeds!
Not wanting to believe this for myself, I contacted the only other gardener I know. The Mysterious Marine. I asked him the question, “Do roses have seeds?” I got the same answer I’d come up with.
“No.”
“Roses do not have seeds.”
This was a puzzlement. Here are two very smart people with a combined age of 134 years. Both gardeners have nurtured roses throughout their entire adult lives. More investigation was needed.
MM has the most beautiful rose garden. There, vibrant colors spring forth in fragrant blooms. He and I may have the only two green yards in the entire desert, being luscious and green throughout the hot summer months.
When I arrived, we hurried to his unpruned plants to harvest rose hips. According to the internet, the flower produces a bulbous structure that is often referred to as the fruit of the rose, or a rose hip. The hip is useful as well as attractive. It’s nutritious and has a pleasant taste. Like the petals, it can be used to make an oil.
Rose hips can be eaten raw. They can also be cooked to make jams, jellies, syrups, soups, teas, and wines. Their SEEDS contain an oil that is popular in the cosmetics industry. This oil is known as rose hip oil, rose hip seed oil, or rosa mosqueta oil.
With hips in hand, we began the dissection. The first two had nothing. Just about to give up on our quest for evidence, there, in the third hip was a perfectly formed seed. It was true. Roses DO have seeds.
In further research, it was stated that growing the seeds is a tedious process that may or may not provide the desired results. If your roses are hybrids, the seeds won’t grow into the same kind of rose, or they may not be fertile at all. It will take a few years to get an actual bush, but it can be done.
Throughout the adventure, MM and I were looking up our favorite roses, which brought back memories of past homes and lives. Roses are just like that. MM’s mom even thought of a rose that the family transplanted upon moving from one house to another. The bush is now over 80 years old and still producing the most fragrant blooms.
In the gardens of Winterpast, I had one tea rose that hadn’t produced a bloom in 2020. That summer, I looked everywhere for a Peace Rose which was my Dad’s favorite of all. His was of the climbing variety, having blooms the size of salad plates. It was late in the year, and none were to be found.
Then, in the spring of 2021, the barren rose came to life. Indeed, the plant is a Peace Rose. Planted in the wrong spot, it struggles. Next year, I’ll fix that.
Today, spend some time looking at your own sleeping yard if it’s not covered in feet of snow. Look for bare spots and create your plans for next year. Bulbs and bare roots are wonderful Christmas gifts for the gardener in your life. Tools, pots, plants, and yard art are also welcomed gifts for those that love their time in the garden.
Above all, keep learning. This world has so many fascinating secrets. Rose seeds…..Well, shut my mouth……
More tomorrow.