Can I grow wild roses from rose hips?

[Mrs. Overall]

We were out hiking along Puget Sound this weekend, and we came upon some beautiful wild roses, which were beginning to drop some orangish-red colored rose hips. I gathered a few and was wondering if it's at all possible to grow some wild roses from these rose hips.

I've tried to Google the info, but as usual, I'm overwhelmed. One site gave instructions for growing domestic roses from rose hips, and wow, it was like a laboratory experiment complete with chemicals.

Would I put the rose hip in some soil? Should I open it to remove the seeds? Soak the seeds? Start them indoors?

Or is this an impossible endeavor?


The rose looks like this:

http://bp1.blogger.com/_NV8OTHVX6jg/SGPXPDggXdI/AAAAAAAAALc/ElFX4-awn9o/s200/wild+rose+blooming+web.jpg

[XemaSab]

1. You can certainly try, but germination may not be very good

I'd just bury the whole hip in some moist native soil.

We have a "volunteer" here in our yard that looks partly wild, partly domestic.

If you really want a wild rose and you can't get your rose hip to germinate, you can get them from some nurseries.

There's Nootka rose, baldhip rose, woods rose, clustered wild rose, and possibly a few others.

Try to Washington Native Plant Society and see if they have a plant sale near you:

http://www.wnps.org/

Good luck, and enjoy!

[Mrs. Overall]

2. Thanks for the info! Just yesterday a friend who lives down the street

told me that part of her backyard is overgrown with these wild roses and invited me to come over and dig some up to transplant. I guess she's been battling them for years and they tend to spread rapidly. I'm keeping the rose hips, but now may try the transplanting since it would be a lot easier.

[XemaSab]

3. Roses transplant very easily

You might wish to wait until the fall, if your friend doesn't mind.

Then again, I ripped out a bunch of roses from the front yard and sort of stuck them along the back fence, not really caring if they lived or died. I think I had 100% transplant rate on about 25 plants. :P