Hi Gang! Last year I decided to save the rose hips from my 'Joseph's Coat' climbing rose. This year, I opened them up, and extracted the seeds. The hips were completely dry and hard as rocks, but I somehow managed it. I then looked up what the seeds are supposed to look like, and in doing so, I discovered I was supposed to open the things up last year, long before those rose hips turned into hardened raisin looking things! (Unfortunately, this is how I roll...jump in to a project with both feet, but miss the frying pan! Go big or go home, right? )

So here's my seeds. Can someone tell me if they're worth keeping, or if they're gonners, due to botched up harvesting techniques?

How fun that you chose to collect seeds ... , but even if the seeds do turn out to be viable, whatever rose they produce will not be Joseph's Coat.

I hope that doesn't disappoint you.

The only roses that grow true from seed are species roses. All of the other roses, like JC, are hybrid roses, so the seeds produced are either self-seedlings or are open pollenated with the father unknown.

A quick test for seed viability is to put them in a glass of water and soak them for about 15 minutes. Those that float to the top, are most likely not viable.

Even if you plant a "viable" seed, it may not germinate. That means whatever genes that got combined in that seed, just didn't come together in a way that works and the seed aborted. You have to plant a LOT of rose seeds to get seedlings. Then you have to toss a lot of those seedlings because they produce weak plants. However, you can come up with a fantastic rose.

It's still fun.

Lyn, thank you. I am aware that any hybrid seed won't grow true to the parent, but I wasn't aware of how difficult it is to get rose seeds to germinate!

I have 33 seeds to check for viability. Is it worth it to put them up for swap, or am I chasing my tail? If I swap them, should I just put all of the viable seeds in one envelope, or divide them up?

Dana .. I haven't a clue as to how answer your question ...

I have lived in the rose world for so long, my point of view seems to change about these things over time. So, who knows what or wants what when ???

Just have fun is my only suggestion ...

Thanks Lyn! You've been very helplful!

I'd soak them and sow them...I mean the worst that happens is nothing. It may just be the outer layer that's odd.

@Protoavis That's a good suggestion. I was going to put them up on the seed swap, though. I'm quite challenged with growing most things from seed. Sprouting....np, but keeping them alive is a problem. Brown thumb in that regard.

Sprouting them, to check viability, seems a good idea, except with the odds mentioned earlier, I'd have to attempt sprouting practically all of them.

For the suggestion!

I think it might not be fair to offer rather questionable seeds to swap. I like the idea of experimenting with these seeds yourself and planning to improve your technique of collection/storage for next year's swap.

I agree.

That said, I have some seeds from the rose South Africa that were collected properly, then put in a sealed container in a refrigerator last fall. Not sure these are in better condition. Were it not for the cost of postage, I'd willingly swap my (probably defective) rose pips for some other (probably defective) rose pips. Not sure how disclosure works in the seed exchange world, but I think it would be necessary.

@porkpal @Steve812



The voice of reason....you're both absolutely right. Agreed, I won't post them for swap, being that they're viability is questionable. Honestly, I would have eventually come to that conclusion....you two just beat me to it! Absolutely, it should be fair for everyone, and I'll probably throw them out.

I don't even have them listed and ready to go live, anyway.

Rose seeds are officially thrown out! I don't have the rose any more, so I can't attempt the correct way to collect seed from it....but I do have a Veteran's Honor, that I planted in honor of my Dad in 2009, and it has stopped blooming for about three years, now. I will be replacing it, so perhaps I'll redeem myself in the future!

Good luck with your new roses!

I hope you have a much reason to be happy with them as you did with the daylily in your avatar.

Steve812 said:Good luck with your new roses!

I hope you have a much reason to be happy with them as you did with the daylily in your avatar.

It is Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Feminine Fingers')
Steve, what a lovely compliment!
....and I just changed my avatar not 5 minutes ago.... .....but it's more of a close-up of the one I think you saw when you posted that very much appreciated comment. The one you see now is what I intended to post, in the first place, but It took me that long to clear some phone memory to change to this close-up version!

Oops!

Maybe, "You're welcome"?

porkpal said:Maybe, "You're welcome"?

Oh geeze!

Indeed.

You Are WELCOME.

Not to be confused with
You are

I'm so embarrassed!

Communication is not always simplex.