Rose Hips

Question

I recently saw what looked like mini pumpkins on a thorny stock. Someone said it was probably rose hip. But I’ve never seen rose hips look like these. They thought it might be from a Rugosa rose. So I looked that up and it states that their rose hips look like mini crabapples. These were orange and definitely looked like mini jack-o-laterns, about 5-6 alternating on this thorny stem. Any idea what it was?

Answer 1

They were indeed rose hips. I have gotten rose hips on my David Austin shrub roses for many years. I also get rose hips on some of my miniature rosebushes. For the first time ever this year, I had rose hips on one of my floribunda rosebushes named Doris Day. So delighted to see them I was! If left on the bush the birds will usually come along and peck the seeds out to eat them for a nourishing winter meal. I take them off and put them in the fridge until about March, then plant the seeds in some seed starting soils. Usually the roses that come up are too weak to amount to anything but still neat to see them come up. Here is an article link on roses from seeds: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/harvesting-rose-seeds.htm
And here: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/growing-roses-from-seed.htm