If you have taken the time
to make some crosses, hopefully some will be
starting to show signs of success. The receptacle
will be swollen, green and smooth. Signs of failure
are yellowing, shriveling stems and no apparent
swelling of the receptacle (eventually falling off).
The successfully hybridised heps will continue to
develop and ripen until the green starts to change
to yellow, orange or red. They are then ready to
“harvest”. Harvesting may also take place if the
stems start to shrivel before they have fully
changed colour, as they will not ripen on the plant
any more once this occurs. Depending on when the
pollinating was done, this may be any time from
April to June.
To harvest, simply cut the
heps off the plant, open them and extract the seeds.
There will be an overage of eight to ten in each hep
(the range can be from one to about thirty). I then
place them on a piece of paper towel (kitchen paper)
and spray lightly with a fungicide like Fongarid,
which I keep in a little squirt bottle. It is
essential that the seeds do not dry out as they form
hard shells if so and the embryos find it difficult
to break out of their casing if it is too hard. I
wrap the seeds in the damp (not wet) paper and seal
in a sandwich bag, which I then store in the crisper
tray in the refrigerator for six to eight weeks or
until the seeds show signs of germinating (you will
need to check periodically to see whether or not
this is happening. There will be a label written on
paper and also wrapped in the plastic (separated
from the damp paper.)
I plant my seedlings out
when they are ready because I do not have to contend
with frost here. You need to remember they are frost
tender, so if you live in an area where frosts are
likely/possible, make sure you keep you seedlings
under cover until September or when frosts are no
longer very likely. The seeds will start germinating
after about two weeks and about 25-60% will
germinate (an average again of about 35-40%)
depending on the seed parent. I plant in foam tomato
boxes, with good quality potting mix in the bottom,
and a thin layer of seed-raising mix on top of that.
The seeds (up to about 400 in per box) will be
scattered and covered by about one centimetre of
seed-raising mix. Mine began flowering on ten-centimetre-high
plants during September.
The new seedlings need to
be protected from snails and slugs as well as
perhaps from mildew or damping off early in the
season when they are young and susceptible. They can
also be watered with a weak solution of Miracle-Gro
or Phostrogen to help promote growth. Start the
selection process immediately you see flowers. Weak,
diseased plants, singles often or vegetative centres
are usually not worth keeping. Promising plants may
be carefully pricked out and potted up separately.
At all stages relabel and keep records. Some without
commercial potential may be kept for breeding future
purposes.
I have to point out that
my methods are not the only ones. There are many
variations and you can do what suits you. These
notes merely serve as a starting point for you. Good
luck and I hope you get a lot of satisfaction from
this interesting and challenging aspect of rose
growing. Warning! Do not start if you are impatient.
You need to be prepared to wear lots of failures and
find ways to achieve success.
© Richard Walsh