Can you get rose hips before blooms?

Question

My rose bush has developed bulbs that look similar to rose hips. However the first blooms are just starting to open. The bulbs seem to be clustered mainly on two stems and look like some kind of mutation. I wasn’t able to find pictures similar to these online and am unsure if I should be concerned. Help! and thank you for any advice you can give.
Charice in Colorado

Answer 1

Hello Charise. I too am in Colorado. I have seen this only a couple times before here. What you are seeing is damage from your roses having been visited by the Cynipid Gall Wasp. They lay their eggs inside the rose cane tissue. As the babies grown inside the tissue the spikey looking galls are formed, the galls take on varying forms and appearances. Thus you see the mutations on just that one cane or sometimes a couple canes of the rosebush. You can either prune them out, place the cuttings in a plastic bag and seal it to kill the wasp babies. Toss in the trash. Or you can just leave them and let the little wasps hatch out. They typically do not become a huge problem. Here is a link to an article I wrote on the subject for you as well: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/rose-cane-galls.htm

Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Stan The Rose Man 🙂
Master Rosarian – ARS/RMD