I've kept hips for several years and the seeds still germinated for me. You can try soaking them but it might not help. Rose hips are very hard. I just use a good sharp knife an cut them open. Don't worry about cutting the seeds, they're even harder than the hips! After you get them out of the hip clean them really well to get all the bits of hip material off of them. It's thought that there is some kind of enzyme in the hip material that inhibits germination. I put them in a fine sieve and scrub them against the sides under running water. Again, this won't hurt them. Then you can soak them in some hydrogen peroxide for a few minutes. This will keep some of the mold down. Wrap them in a damp paper towel, seal the towel in a plastic zip bag and put them in your fridge for a few weeks. When you check them don't be worried if there's mold on the towel. It doesn't hurt them and there are some studies they say certain molds aid in germination. If they've germinated you'll be able to tell easily. The little greenish white root will be sticking out of the seed. Carefully get the seed out of the paper towel and put it in seed starting mix. If you have starter trays that works best. If not start it in a cup but make sure it's starter soil not potting soil. I don't pot up to potting soil until they have at least 2 sets of true leaves. Put it under lights if you have them. If not in your sunniest window. Like the others have said it will not be "The Doctor" but it's own new variety and depending on how it was pollinated can look behave totally different. Have fun!

I would love to trade for as many seeds as you would be willing to trade. I have many different seeds on my exchange list, and any double or shedded cuttings. I have white perfection, orange delight, rooted cuttings and pink fantasy cuttings, thanks..

There are many good methods for starting seed.At Country Garden we start seed in 3 inch pots using ordinary potting soil.The trick is to be sure the soil stays warm.Some people use heating mats.I just put a worklight under the potting bench. If you have only a few seed you may want to peel the corky outer covering.The only real difference it makes is to slightly speed up germination.This will also show up any hollow seed.We don't bother to peel but we start a lot of seed each year. Keep the potting mix just barely moist.Fresh seed can begin to germinate in a few days though some may take months. Seed Sprout Nursery sells seed....Google for the web address Country Garden sells seed....http://countrygdn.com Brugmansia Growers International gives away free seed to members Here is a link that might be useful: BGI

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