Scrappy Coco
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How long does it take for rose seeds to germinate?

So, how long does it take for rose seeds to germinate? :)

tomc
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I collect rose seed in the fall once the berry (hip) changes color. I break open the pod and sow seed direct on quick draining soil. I let the pot sit outdoors in the cold and snow. Seeds germinate the following spring.

Drying, freezing rose seed only reduces germination. Which if you do dry-freeze it, can make it take up to two years to germinate.

Scrappy Coco
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What? I don't mean to be rude in any way, but, how does it answer my question? lol Maybe I didn't express my question the right way. I bought rose seeds from ebay, and I'm now trying to get them to germinate. How long does it usually take?

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rainbowgardener
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What the previous poster was telling you was it depends on how your rose seed has been treated. Rose seed needs to be cold stratified, I.e. Either planted in the fall and left out for the winter as suggested or planted in moist potting mix and refrigerated for 8 - 10 weeks. If the person you bought the seed from already did that, then you can just plant the seed and it should germinate in 6 - 8 weeks, if all goes well. If not then you have to do it.

Scrappy Coco
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I thought it was a totally regular seed germinating in about a day or two. Well, going to have to treat them well I guess.

tomc
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Rose seed comes with a strong set of inhibitors. These conserve seed till the seed gets what it needs to germinate. Think of this as +5 armor class ;). Mere scribeing seed won't fix it.

I have tried (and tried and tried) the refridgerator thing and wasted years waiting for my rose seed to germinate.

Mike Dirr in Manual of Woody Plants will tell you more than you want to know about "inhibitors" in woody plants.

Rose seed actually does better with benign neglect, than it does with a lot of loving up. Stick seed inna pot, cover pot with a plank to keep out critters and forget it till spring.

imafan26
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Thanks Tomc and Rainbow, I did not know rose seeds had to be cold stratified. I'll try that since none of my attempts to grow seed have ever worked. Does cold stratification hold true even where roses have been acclimated and it never snows or rarely gets colder than 50 degrees?

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rainbowgardener
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Scrappy Coco wrote:I thought it was a totally regular seed germinating in about a day or two. Well, going to have to treat them well I guess.
What is it you have been growing from seed? (Hint: cannabis seed can sometimes germinate in a couple days :wink: ) Hardly anything else actually germinates in a day or two. Many annual flowers and vegetables will sprout in a few days to a week in ideal conditions. Most perennials are slower to sprout, taking anywhere from 10 days to three weeks or sometimes more. Growing trees and shrubs from seed is slower than that. Roses are shrubs.

But really you need to find out from the grower if your seeds have already been cold stratified or you will be very disappointed in the results.

tomc
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imafan26 wrote:Thanks Tomc and Rainbow, I did not know rose seeds had to be cold stratified. I'll try that since none of my attempts to grow seed have ever worked. Does cold stratification hold true even where roses have been acclimated and it never snows or rarely gets colder than 50 degrees?
There is a cycle of cold (damp) then warm and wet that occurs in nature, that don't in your fridge. It is my possition that its that cycle that breaks down those inhibitors that Dirr writes about.

*I* guess if you really wanna stow (and then remove) your seed in the fridge a few dozen-hundreds of times you might get nearly the same result in your fridge as under the garden bench. Seems like a lot of work for little result...

cynthia_h
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I'm not clear on why you're trying to propagate roses via seed, which is (to judge from the other responses) quite difficult and requires conditions found almost only in Nature.

The general method of rose propagation is through cuttings. Is there a reason why this cannot work in your situation?

Just curious; it seems like you're frustrating yourself to no good purpose, when cuttings would do the job. If, OTOH, you're developing a personal scientific experiment, that's completely different. :D

Cynthia H.
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SilkeWolf
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Hello all!

I am trying to frustrate myself, accordingly. :D I must like it on some level. Now that I have gotten my brain on the idea of growing roses bushes from a recent gift of a dozen peach long stem roses....I am addicted to seeing just how much torture to my patience I can stand.

However, I also bought seeds via the internet and there were no instructions as to if the seeds had been stratisfied or not. If I am to put them through the cold process twice, would it kill them?

Thank you ahead of time!
Silke

imafan26
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Well, I guess that is why none of my seeds ever germinated. I don't get cold enough. I guess I will stick to trying to root them from cuttings. That has been hit and miss, but when it works, it works.

SilkeWolf
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Well, all of my cuttings of the peach roses I got as a gift, (from Bi Lo, I believe) except 2 have rotted. I have found LOTS of methods of doing this, I think mine just needs refining. I got new growth on every one of them, then poof, mold and rot. I used the plastic baggie method and I think that was my undoing. The one I haphazardly stuck in potting soil and threw a glass vase over....is doing just fine. SMH. All the others, I pampered and babied..ha ha ha!

I do have a question for everyone here tho. When you do your cuttings, what are your preferred methods of length and amount stuck under growing medium, vs amount of stem above?

imafan26
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I have only successfully rooted roses grown on their own roots. The hybrid teas really did not take. I might have better luck with grafting. I haven't tried that yet.

Someone I know just cuts her roses when they get too big and stick them in a can of water out in the yard and forgets about it and it roots in water. Of course where she lives it does rain every day.

I have rooted roses with root tone and with dip n grow. I try to get a 3 node cutting preferably with a fork, mallet or heel cutting. I need all the help I can get. Sometimes they will root in perlite like my other cuttings and sometimes I get better results with the baggie method. With the baggie method you have to keep and eye on them and take off the bag at the right time or the humidity promotes fungal growth and that the end of that. Try to take a cutting that is green ripe, not too young. Like most cuttings it is best to take the cuttings just before the rose is about to flush. I like to get at least a 1/4 inch diameter cutting.
My success rate varies from 0%- 95% take. I haven't really figured out why it ranges so much. Some roses like the green rose roots much faster than the shrub roses. The ramblers root fairly well. I have the hardest time rooting bush roses, and that is where I have the highest mortality. I might try layering if I get a long enough branch to bend over without breaking.



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