Roses produce hips to carry seeds if we do not deadhead. The colour of the hips (aka heps, haws, Pixie Pears or even Pig’s Noses) vary with some strong reds and bright orange varieties. The wild varieties and species rose are often better hip producers as other roses have been bred for floral purposes. Tip do some research when buying roses to get good hips.
Good Hip Roses
- Rosa Rugarosa are grown for the hips that follow the flowers. They make a good hedge with masses of small bristly thorns up to 6 feet high. Rugarosa Alba are fragrant white flowers of heavily scented large white flowers June to September followed by large orange-red hips early autumn .
- The climbing Rose Francis E. Lester has large bunches of small blooms with a strong fragrance. This is followed by masses of small orange hips in autumn.
- Rosa ‘Geranium’Â is a large, vigorous shrub with arching branches and dark-green leaves. In summer, it produces red flowers with prominent yellow stamens, followed by bright-red, long hips in autumn.
- Rose Macrophylla has clear pink flowers followed by long bristly, flagon-shaped hips.
Using Rose Hips
- Hips help attract wild birds and feed them through winter.
- Many hips from wild roses are colourful and can be used in flower arrangements.
- Fruiting varieties like ‘Buff Beauty’ ‘Felicia’ and ‘Penelope’ are usually edible and pleasantly sweet, especially if you wait until the frost has concentrated their sugars.
- Hips are decorative and can look spectacular during winter with a rime of frost.
- Rose hips are made into syrup for vitamin C and here are some other recipes.
HT roses seem to produce more boring hips.
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