Growing Roses from Seed
Pollens and Rose Hips: A Step-by-Step Guide to Growing Roses from Seed
It certainly isn’t easy growing roses from seed. Many gardeners, especially beginners, opt for grafting roses on unions instead. But while it may not be the fastest way to grow beautiful rose plants, it is still the most rewarding of all methods of growing roses. Once you decide to grow your own roses from seed, you are automatically submitting yourself to the difficulties that you will encounter along the way. Sure, a single rose hip contains several seeds from which you could possibly grow more than a dozen rose plants. But you should know that not all seeds are good enough to provide you with healthy roses that last long. So before taking on this effort-consuming task, it is best to understand exactly what you will be doing to grow roses from seeds.
The Anatomy of the Rose
By herself, Mother Nature is capable of growing roses from seed, but at a much slower rate than how long it takes if you interfered. This is because roses, although they are commonly known as the “queen” of all roses and appear to be very feminine, are actually very bi-sexual in nature. You heard that right. Roses are both male and female. They have an ovary, which contains the ovules (or eggs) to be fertilized by pollen, and a stamen, which houses the filaments containing the pollen. So if you leave the roses at that, you will end up with naturally produced seeds that you can plant later on. Once you see rose hips develop, leave them alone for four months and go on with your regular daily routine of rose care. When the four months have passed, it’s safe to say you can harvest the rose hips for seeds. However, if you are way more into advanced gardening and would like to hybridize roses, then you need to cross-pollinate them first.
Hybridizing Roses
Assuming you have already selected the roses you want to cross-pollinate, it’s time to cut off a number of blooms and take their pollen sacs. To do this, look for flowers that are not yet fully opened, perhaps half or three-fourths open, and carefully pluck out all the petals, leaving inside a fresh-looking, golden yellow stamen in the middle. Take this out, too, and put them inside uncovered sterilized film canisters to dry. Wait for the stamens to burst open—this usually takes a few hours to an entire day, depending on the rose variety you choose to cross-pollinate.
By the time the pollen becomes available, the stigma, the part of the rose that receives the pollen grains, has become sticking, meaning, it is ready to receive the pollen. Using a clean Q-tip or your fingertips, dab the pollen grains into the stigma every four hours for an entire day.
Getting the Rose Seeds Ready
This is perhaps the most tedious part of growing roses from seed because it takes up a lot of preparation time before you can actually plant the seeds in soil. After harvesting the rose hips, slice them open and scrape out the seeds with a butter knife. You can throw away the pulp and the shell afterwards. Rinse the seeds in a solution of purified water (bottled water does the trick) mixed with two teaspoons of bleach. After rinsing, soak the seeds overnight in 3% peroxide to encourage better growth when planted. A good way to find out which are the good seeds and which ones will not make it past being planted is the water float test. Discard those that floated to the surface of the soaking solution because you can be sure those that sunk to the bottom are the high-quality seeds you should work on.
After soaking the seeds overnight, it is important that you clean them out further to thoroughly remove the pulp that has stuck to them. Place the seeds on a patch of clean cloth and brush the pulp away. Another method of cleaning them is by placing a cup of purified water in a blender that has plastic blades. Take note, it is important that you use plastic instead of metal blades so you do not damage your seeds. Turn the blender on for several minutes and your seeds will end up like dirty clothes being washed clean in a tub of whirring water and soap.
It is also a good idea to stratify your rose seeds before planting them. This involves covering the seeds with a paper towel soaked in half-and-half water and peroxide solution. Fold the paper towel to secure the seeds inside and place it inside a Ziploc bag. Seal the bag and leave it in the refrigerator with a temperature of 34-38 degrees. After six to ten weeks, your rose seeds will finally be ready for planting.
Planting the Rose Seeds
Use a mixture of 50% potting soil and 50% vermiculite for your seeds. This is very light and will help your seeds germinate into healthier seedlings. Place the seeds about half an inch deep into the soil and lightly sprinkle with a rooting hormone, such as RooTone or Captan. If you are concerned about using chemical substances, however, you can always use a water-and-peroxide solution instead. Cover the seeds with soil and spray the substance again. This gives the seeds better chances of withstanding seed diseases, such as damp-off. Place your tray of seeds in direct sunlight and make sure they are watered thoroughly. Six weeks into the process and your seeds will have sprouted and will be ready for transplanting.
By that time, your rose seedlings will be ready to receive the same kind of rose care that you give to your other rose plants. Remember the three basic elements of successful rose gardening: water, soil, and sunlight. Make sure that you provide these for your seedlings, along with mulch and fertilizer, so that they will grow into healthy plants that reward you with beautiful blooms when the time comes.
