I'm trying to start rose seed. These are from
the hips I picked off roadside several weeks ago.
Today I saw more on the same bush and came home with another handful. These hips each had two or more seeds, so I ended up with about forty seeds total.
Getting rose seed to grow is very tricky, I find from my reading. (Which is why usually they're grown from cuttings). The seeds have to go through a
lengthy period of stratification- sitting in the cold. Several
months worth. They also have to be kept dark and partly moist, so I followed the method read on another site and layered a babyfood jar with vermiculite.
I've never worked with this stuff before. I like it better than perlite, which floats about too much- but this stuff the color of oatmeal is kinda weird. You get it wet and it soaks up the water but still feels gritty.
Put a layer of it in the jar, with a layer of seeds, then another layer of vermiculite and so on until the little jar was full (three levels of seeds in there).
Then seal it up and stash in a corner until the date I've marked on my calendar, to take them out and see if any seeds will sprout once put in soil...
It's not very promising. I read too much about it online. Rose is very susceptible to fungus, so you have to soak the seeds first in a mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide, or weak bleach. The mixture you store them in must be very sterile, too. Only the seeds that sink when you soak them are likely to germinate- but I didn't get any, mine were all floaters.
Four sunk when first put in the bath, but they were all floating when I came back six hours later to store them in the jar. Then you have to wait
forever, and there's always the probability the seeds that do grow won't be true to the parent, but look different.
Why am I doing this crazy thing? Well, it only took about fifteen minutes to prepare the seeds and put them in the jar. Not really difficult. There's just the patience required with small hope of actual roses at the end.
I guess I just like to see what I can get to grow. The challenge is my idea of fun.
2 comments:
I'm actually trying to grow some rose seeds too right now! I read a totally different method that I'm trying, lol. Well it was sent to me by the person I bought the seeds from. You soak the seeds in water for twenty four hours. Wrap in a moist towel and keep moist and WARM for 60 days and then keep moist and COOL for 60 days (in refrigerator). THEN plant them in warm soil…and see what comes up. So technically I can't plant these until June 1st :p And the soil should be plenty warm then!
It sounds similar. Let me know if yours grow! Where did you get your seed?
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