From Flower to Fruit: How Hips Give Life to New Roses
At David Austin Roses, the greenhouses are alive with energy as thousands of young plants grow and develop. This is the stage where the next generation of roses begins to take shape, starting with the formation of rose hips, the small fruits that hold the seeds of future blooms.
Developing Hips: Nature’s Seed Capsules
Earlier in the season, our team carefully carried out cross-pollination, transferring pollen from one rose to another to create new combinations. The parent plants then produce rose hips, each containing around 10 seeds. Each seed is completely unique, carrying a mix of traits from both parent plants, like children inheriting characteristics from their parents.
To help the hips grow strong, we prune the flowering shoots on the parent plants where the hips are forming. Older blooms and larger stems that might block sunlight or airflow are removed, ensuring every hip receives the light and air it needs. This careful attention encourages robust seed formation and gives each seed the best chance of growing into a healthy new plant.
Watching Seedlings Take Shape
While the hips are developing on the parent plants, we also tend to this year’s seedlings, young plants grown from previous years’ seeds. Each seedling is carefully tracked and observed for growth, flowering, and resilience. This helps us identify which crosses are producing the strongest, most promising plants.
From thousands of seedlings, only the very best are selected to move forward into further trials. This ensures that every rose reaching gardeners’ gardens is beautiful, vigorous, and true to the qualities David Austin Roses is known for.
Why Greenhouse Care is Essential
It may seem like simple pruning and observation, but every action in the greenhouse is crucial. Every cross-pollinated flower, every developing hip, and every seed contributes to the next generation of roses. By carefully nurturing the parent plants and the seeds they produce, our team gives each new rose the best start in life, ready to bloom and flourish in gardens around the world.
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