@User if you pollinated the blooms to create the seed, they should be ripe approximately 110 days or so from pollination. If they are open pollinated or self set, look for the joint beneath the hip on the peduncle beneath it. That is the point of abscission, where the plant will form a membrane to seal off the growth above it when it's ready to shed it so when it falls off, no sap bleeds from the separation. You can place a finger on that joint to stabilize it then conduct a little "chiropractic" maneuver by gently bending the hip toward the finger stabilizing that point of abscission and see if the hip breaks off EASILY. If it's ready to fall, that means the plant has ripened the seed and they are OK for removal. If it doesn't break off easily (it won't take a GREAT deal of pressure for it to snap if it's ready), leave it alone a little while longer and try it again in a week or so, or when you think of it. It's mid October now. If you don't remember seeing fresh flowers where those hips now grow since early July, they MAY be sufficiently ripe for germination. You can't always count on the hips changing colors like an apple (to which they are related) because, like apples, some remain green, some turn yellow, some red, some orange and some all variations in between. So, coloration isn't always going to indicate ripeness. If you have hard frosts coming in the near future, harvest them prior to the frosts as that deep temperature can delay germination potentially longer than desired. And, the longer you wait, the greater the chances of some critter discovering a nutritious meal of rose hips and seeds and beating you to the harvest. None of this is absolute and there can be a fairly great leeway in time, so play with it and see what feels possible. Some will snap right off and be just fine. Others will require pruning shears to cut them off and both will likely provide successful seedlings. One word of caution I will share is, when you clean the seeds from the hips, watch those fibers inside the hips. They are WORSE than fiber glass or steel wool in causing you to ITCH. While you are cutting up the hips, prying the seeds from the flesh and fibers, avoid all temptation to scratch your eyes or anywhere else until you have thoroughly washed your hands! If you want to clean the seeds after removing them from the hips, you can take a small bowl with a small wire strainer and some Comet or Ajax cleanser. Put a tablespoon or two of water in the bottom of the bowl, insert the strainer with the seeds in it and shake a good amount of cleanser into the strainer, then using your fingers, grind the seeds into the wire mesh with the cleanser. It can be rough on your finger tips but what you are doing is breaking down any of those irritating fibers so they will rinse through the wire mesh. The grinding against the mesh will help to weaken the seed coat (they aren't really "seeds" but achenes. I read in Roses, by Jack Harkness, that means "I don't gape" or there aren't two halves to the seed cover but one hard shell which must break down or be worn off to allow for germination) and help break it down to admit moisture to assist in germination. Once you feel you've scoured the seeds enough (usually by the time your finger tips and arms are sore), just thoroughly rinse all the cleanser off them under the running faucet then spread them on dry paper to absorb all of the excess moisture if you're going to store them any length of time before planting. Otherwise mold will grow on them and that may prevent germination.

Some who live in cold climates spread the seeds on damp toweling in ziploc bags and store them in the refrigerator, watching for them to begin germinating, then plant the individual seedlings as they sprout. I'll let someone with experience with that fill in the rest as I've been fortunate enough to be able to always plant directly outdoors and allow them to germinate with the weather. Good luck and have fun!

@roseseek thank you SO much for this fantastic information! I so appreciate all the detail and care you've put into responding. I've copied your post and am keeping it safe in a file on my computer, lest the weird machinations of Houzz somehow lose it. Later today I'm going to get outside and check the hips, see if they are ready per your instructions. They are open pollinated, so I don't have an exact timeline. My plan is to start them at some point this winter under my grow lights, but depending on how many seeds I get, I may experiment with sprouting some in the fridge on a paper towel, as you mention (I've read that some recommend starting delphiniums this way, too, though I've never done so).

Ands thanks too for the warning about the fibers inside the hips! - I had no idea they were such an irritant. Makes you wonder how birds get away with eating rose hips!

Thanks again so very much!

@User you're welcome! I think you will find you don't have to stratify the seeds in the refrigerator to provide a cold period. I stopped doing that many years ago and have gotten as good germination as I did while doing it. The worst part of raising them in bags in the refrigerator is the mold which forms on the toweling. Traditionally, Captan was used to prevent that but you can't always find it as it was found to be carcinogenic. You used to be able buy it and all other manner of poisonous and dangerous chemicals on the shelves of your local KMart garden center. I used to find 2# bags of Streptomycin antibiotic powder on their shelves, way back when the ARS used to advise adding it to your spray concoction to increase the chemicals' effectiveness. And, we wonder WHY antibiotics are losing their punch? Anyway, I'm not sure what you can now use to prevent the mold on the toweling. No matter how clean you get the seeds, there will be mold spores on something ready to infect the damp toweling. And, that's another point, the toweling should be DAMP, not "wet". Drippy water in the bags will cause rot and slime. Just like in sending cuttings, you want high humidity within the plastic bag, NOT liquid water. So, thoroughly wet the toweling then squeeze it as dry as possible before placing it in the bag and spreading the seeds on its surface.

When you plant the seeds in soil in the basement, you want a light seed starter mix and only cover them a quarter of an inch with the mix. Keep the mix damp, never soggy as young seedlings can damp off quickly from soil borne rots. You may also experience fungus gnat larvae as they LOVE damp anything indoors. This site suggests some homeopathic remedies for them. https://plantperfect.com/how-to-deal-with-fungus-gnats-on-houseplants/ The gnat larvae can quickly kill emerging seedlings. You want the area cooler rather than warmer to encourage rose seeds to germinate. Anything above sixty and less than high seventies appears in the ideal range, though I've had them continue germinating outdoors here well into the mid eighties. Cooler nights (low sixties or so) and warmer days (perhaps low to mid seventies) appears to suit them perfectly. And, you want your grow lights close to the soil surface as they want LIGHT. To prevent them from scorching outdoors, I cover mine with gray nylon window screen to reduce the intensity of the sun and they love it. I also grow newly rooted cuttings under that screen and they explode! You definitely want good air circulation as mildew can quickly kill off new, young rose seedlings. Potassium bicarbonate can be used as a fungicide on them. You can buy it from many sources and you don't need much, only a tablespoon per gallon of water to spray. It's usually food grade as it's also used as as an antacid, electrolyte replenisher and potassium supplement and they use it to de acidify wine in wine making. I bought a pound on line two years ago for $8 with free shipping so that won't set you back terribly. You can always use the rest of it on any mildew issues outside. There are likely many other things to watch for but these come to mind at the moment. Hopefully, others with more experience raising them indoors will add their advice. Have fun!

Great advice!!! I get terrible fungus gnats and found just leaving a mosquito drench in my watering can is a gnat-killing lifesaver!It-s also cheap and lasts through many gallons of water if needed.

Wow, more fantastic advice! (also saved on my computer). I never knew about potassium bicarbonate, that sounds like an incredibly useful product. I'll look for it on Amazon. However, given your warnings about the damp-paper-towel in the fridge route, I may skip that all together. Again, I've never done it with any other seeds. But I'm open to thoughts about this from anybody who has done it successfully?

I don't have a basement, my plant cart is in my home office! But we keep our house pretty cool in the winter - 65 during the day, then usually down to 56-58 at night. So hopefully that will suit them. I've never had trouble with my delphiniums at these temperatures.

Thanks again so much!!!

KMart? I thought those didn't exist anymore.

I've grown roses from seed every year, maybe for ten or twelve years or maybe 15. Most of what I read about it advises the cold stratification in the fridge so that's what I do, plus it is handy for me to delay germination. I just would rather shorten the time that I have to take care of little plants indoors. So I collect the seeds in fall , put them in the fridge in the damp paper towels in little baggies and put 'em in a zip lock bag, and plant them in flats in January. I grow them indoors under lights Jan- mid April. It's possible I'd get better germination if I planted them as soon as I harvest them. I might try some that way. I get enough rose seedlings that it's as much as I want to take care of. Kim can plant outdoors in his climate. It's possible that rose seeds can be " winter sown" in colder climates if you want to do it outdoors.

I should learn to do crosses. I have ideas, but somehow I have the notion that it is a big hassle to label all the hips. I think if all my crosses on one plant were the same it would not be a big deal to keep up with it. I think you can get some good roses from op seeds. I do enjoy naming them after family and pets, etc.

Oh, my seeds germinate partly in the fridge and partly at room temps. Usually in Jan. my little sprouts are not so big that they can't be transplanted to a flat of potting soil. I keep my house pretty cool at night and about 65-68 during the day in winter. I have tried bt and cinnamon on fungus gnats. Imperfect results.

I always used to keep seeds in bags, with damp paper towels during the cold stratification period. Yes, they often went moldy, but it was my impression that some mold helped break down the outer layer of the achene, which is what you want to have happen. You just don't want to leave seeds in the bags so long that they start to germinate in there, because the mold may kill the germinating seeds. I always removed (and cleaned) the seeds before they germinated, and sowed them.

To prevent Damping Off, I did what Ralph Moore did: cover the soil (after sowing) with 1/4" of small grade perlite. This completely eliminated Damping Off for me.

@sautesmom Sacramento nope, they don't, but "back in the day", you could find all manner of poisons on their garden center shelves. Cygon systemic which was found to be SO toxic (in its original home-use form) it could eventually no longer be sprayed and was limited to use as a "soil drench" for houseflies? (Wonder who got paid off on that one?). Now, it's only for professional use in agriculture. Lindane, a pint for $9, whose "Danger" label's first line was "CAUSES BLINDNESS" but you COULD buy it to spray your roses for APHIDS. Now, it's also for professional use only as it's the systemic which is stored in the wood instead of the foliage and fruit and is used against Flat Head Apple Borers, among others. 2# bags of Streptomycin and Terramycin powders for garden spray use. Those were removed from sale when it was discovered people were ingesting them instead of obtaining prescriptions for them. These and MANY others, just sitting, waiting beside the pool toys and chemicals to be purchased, taken home and mixed using ARS suggestions on how to "nuke" your roses. The "Good, Old Days".

Has anyone ever tried just planting the hips whole?

I'm sure that's what happens in nature. And in the Gardens of lazy people.

Carla in Sac

Sautesmom, I think it's more likely that in a natural setting, an animal would have eaten the fruit part off.

Gee, I was advised to use Cygon by the owner of a large local nursery that was in business for at least 50 years. I wanted something to treat thrips. So I used Cygon as a drench, and that stuff really worked. But it was too much trouble. So I just used it once. This was before I owned a computer, and I don't think websites existed then, anyway. Or the internet. Those were the days. I'll be 78 in three weeks. Anyway, my stepdad was a big farmer, 2000 acres, and definitely the boss. Still he routinely covered himself with poisons for decades. One of the more interesting ones was d-nitro which turned his hands and feet yellow. It reminded me of all my contact with nitric acid in chem lab. And we didn't use gloves or eye protection back then, either. I got the yellow fingers on occasion. But back to my stepdad--he died at 88 years, basically of old age. And no, I'm not advocating returning to the good old days. At least we didn't use arsenic on our flowers, or our faces, for that matter, for the stylish, pale look. Belladonna would achieve that, too. Diane

@Mischievous Magpie (CO 5b) either something eating the hip flesh and passing the seeds (likely encapsulated in guano to aid germination) or the freeze/thaw with rot decomposing the flesh would likely be what happens. Planting the entire hip would likely cause total failure as that would likely mean it was buried too deeply (only a quarter inch deep is ideal) so they probably wouldn't germinate. Diane, there was an old Latino gardener at The Huntington who, for years, mixed trashcans of chemicals with his bare arms (even Cygon for drenching the rose beds) and he finally died a horrible death from terrible diseases they couldn't explain. That was long before it was State Law to instruct ag workers in their native languages how to safely handle chemicals. I left a job and turned in a landscraper for just that. He didn't want me telling his workers not to pick off the yellow foliage from the clients' roses while their co workers sprayed them with Orthenex. It would have been MY hide had any of them sued as it was my responsibility. That was my last straw with him and my parting gift to him was to report him to the State for willfully endangering his workers. Far too many people have died horribly because of these toxins and their unsafe, even irresponsible uses.

I have difficulty imagining anyone sticking their arm in a bucket of Cygon/Orthene and surviving to see their next meal, let alone next birthday!

An update on my Quicksilver seeds - I did decide to give them a cold period in the fridge (ziploc bag, damp paper towel). Just took them out and two have started germinating!!! I'm so thrilled! I potted the seeds and put them under my plant lights - we'll see what happens. Thanks everybody for all the wonderful advice - and special thanks to roseseek!!!

Congratulations, Frances!

They look like tiny pumpkins!

Orangeade and Cl Winifred Coulter made some of the more reliably huge hips in my old Newhall garden. My small nephews (at the time) always wanted to help their dad carve the pumpkins but they were too small, so I would take over a bag of those huge, orange "pumpkins" and they, their mom and I would occupy ourselves painting their "jack'o lanterns" while their dad slimed up the kitchen. I think he was jealous because they were having a ball and were totally engrossed without begging him to let them play in the slime with the sharp knife. Burling's Empathy also makes very large hips.

Roseseek, what a wonderful story. Uncles are such special people. I was reminded of my nature walks with granddaughter Clare. We gathered acorns and later drew faces on them. Empty poppy seed cases that look like pepper pots are great to draw on, too. Diane

More fun with rose hips.

Morden Sunrise? hips

Morden Sunrise hips

Thank you, Diane. What a wonderful memory for you both about the acorns and poppy seed cases. I can imagine those experiences being repeated in years to come with other daughters and grand daughters.