I’ve chosen a rugosa to show the rosebud to rosehip stages as their tomato-like hips are so beautiful and easily recognised. Other wild roses (known as species roses) follow the same process, although it’s more common for roses that produce large amounts of hips to flower once per year.
Wild roses usually have just five petals and lots of stamens. In double roses, some or all of the stamens have mutated into extra petals so the fullest flowers produce little pollen and rarely form hips. This means modern garden roses can put more of their energy into repeat-flowering: dead-heading or summer pruning those will help too.
I know many regular readers will be very familiar with this, but thought it would be nice to show the bud to seed process in pictures for those who are not. Shared for Cee’s Flower of the Day.
Susan Rushton 
Very interesting for me as I’ve only seen rose hips once or twice in my life, let alone the whole process of forming them.
I’m glad I got to show you them close up.
Very interesting and well written with some excellent photo illustrations.
Thanks, David. When I was looking though my pictures the idea seemed to jump out.
What a wonderful way to reveal the life cycle of roses – beautiful in all stages 🙂
I took a picture of some over-ripe hips the birds had been eating the other day and they were still attractive, in a halloween-type way.
I really enjoyed this. It never hurts to refresh our understanding of natural processes, particularly when the lesson is so well illustrated.
I’m glad. It’s easy to assume we all know this, but not everyone does and those who do had to learn somehow.
Thanks. I watch this process with wild roses in my garden, complete with bees . They spread out with runners everywhere
Yes, rugosas especially take good advantage of every means of spreading.
oh this is wonderful – have you ever tried to grow your own? I have a lovely one which has been spreading by itself, but now I think it is about time I tried to grow my one from its many hips
No, but I worked at a place where 100,000+ rose seedlings were grown each year. Most of them would flower in their first year when they were still super-spindly, so you shouldn’t have to wait too long to see what you’ve got. You might want to cold stratify them first. If you’ve somehow ended up with hybrid seeds, the young roses will be variable.
oooh thanks, you’ve inspired me to have a go! Will be out collecting the multiple hips on my return 🙂
And I meant to say good luck!
thanks, suspect might need it!