I know next to nothing about roses except for how to grow the ornamental varieties and I'm really not that great at that. I would really like to grow roses that have the kind of hips that you crush, strain and make a drink out of. We don't have citrus growing in the Wild Woods of Tennessee. This seems like a great alternative to flavored drinks.

There are lots of roses that make good hips. I think you will find rugosas near the tops of most lists: Hansa and Rugosa Alba might be good choices.

I went to the trouble of tasting many of the rose hips produced in my garden last year and I found the best tasting (fresh) to be on a rose that I never ordered, which I presume to be Bishop Darlington.

A terrrific rose South Africa makes hips, but in my garden they are a little bitter. Other roses in my own garden with hips include Lady Pamela Carol and Tess of the d'Ubervilles, both good roses.

I believe Heirloom Roses has a good list of roses with hips to complement their very deep catalogue. And Antique Rose Emporium's catalogue will generally indicate if a rose is notable for its hips.

I use R. rugosa for marmalades and rose hip jelly. It has more 'flesh' than other roses I grow, which makes it easier to pick and clean enough hips to make it worth your while. Be sure you remove _all_ seeds before processing as they are extremely prickly and nasty if ingested. The trick to cleaning them without turning everything into mush is to pick the hips just _before_ they are fully ripe and turn soft, then cut them horisontally and remove the seeds with the back end of a tea spoon - I learned this from my grandmother who cleaned loads of rose hips in her lifetime and I highly recommend the method.

Also remember that R. rugosa can be invasive, especially in sandy soil. There are named varieties which are not invasive, but not all of them have good hips, so it's wise to do a little research before making your choice(s).

Good luck!

I am also interested in this question because my GP said I didn't have enough vitamin c in my organism. I asked him why do people say that you should drink roses' hips to have enough vitamin c in your organism. I couldn't really understand this. And my doctor answered: Rosehip contains the seeds of the rose plant. Dried rosehip and the seeds are used together to make medicine. Fresh rosehip contains a lot of vitamin C, so some people take it as a source of vitamin C to prevent and treat colds, flu, and vitamin C deficiencies." So now I drink so much rosehip tea and feel much better. Today I came across an article by Nicholas From Docarzt about nootropics, and there was written that they have all the vitamins you need. Is it true?

I was thinking about R.rugosa scabrosa which has very fleshy ripe hips just now in my yard. However locally , the hips of invasive R.eglanteria is used extensively for the same purpose. One finds rose hip marmalade regularly in stores here and is a tourist attraction. ( not now with COVID restrictions... ). I had to clean my property from R.e. It asked for a four year major operation, before it regained the character of a farm. So it IS very invasive. However, the foliage is fragrant ( apples) and sets plenty of hips! I have plenty of hips of volunteer R.e. bushes that escaped my wrath!
Arturo