Growing roses from seed

[Dog Rose]

As you might have guessed from the name, I have a dog rose growing in the garden. It was rescued from under a compost heap (long story) and is now trained up the house wall. It provides a gorgeous display of pinkish-white flowers in the summer. I'd really like to get another one like it, but I haven't seen one in the shops, and there are an awful lot of heritage seeds in my garden, so it might be an older strain.

How easy is it to grow roses from cutting or seed? Most of the advice I've seen suggests that you can't grow them from cuttings, but it also says that growing roses by taking seed from rose hips is very difficult. I mainly grow fruit, and I have basic knowledge of grafting, so would that be enough to manage this, or is growing roses as involved as it sounds?

Any help would be involved, since I might have to explain to the rest of the house why they can't use the airing cupboard while the rose hips dry!

 

[ChanellG]

It's much easier to grow roses from cuttings. If your rose is trained up the house wall there should be plenty of plant material for you to experiment with. All you would need is a tip cutting from a "branch" that has recently put out new growth. Look for stems that are about the thickness of a pencil and cut a piece at least 6 inches long. I've been told sterile potting mix is best for rooting roses.

 

[Fernsdaddy]

I have one climbing rose that I can grow roses from seed and it what we call a swamp rose, because the grow like crazy in the wet lands, other than that I've never had much luck growing from seeds or cuttings