HIps are In

Elisabeth — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:07:00 GMT

Most people buy roses for the beautiful blooms--which is very sensible, since not all rosebushes are lovely when they are out of bloom. Real rose lovers also consider the hips, sometimes called "heps", which are the fruit of the rose. Depending on the species and variety of rose, the hips can by tiny or cherry tomato-size and can range in color from orange to brilliant scarlet.

One of the best roses for hips is a species, Rosa moyesii. It bears pink single blossoms once a year, but its hips are its crowing achievement. Some writers have described them as flask shaped and they are borne in great numbers on a mature shrub. The color is bright red. Even if you have never seen Rosa moyesii, you would know it the minute you laid eyes on it, just because of the hips.

Rugosa roses (R. rugosa) and their hybrids often have very large (over one inch in diameter) hips, which tend to be brilliant red. The hips are full of Vitamin C and make excellent jam or jelly. Popular rugosa hybrids include the famous, fragrant white 'Blanc Double de Coubert'; (above) and the light pink-flowered 'Frau Dagmar Hartopp', more correctly known as 'Frau Dagmar Hastrup'. Whatever her name, this German lady has lovely light pink flowers, followed by big red hips. Both 'Blanc Double de Coubert' and 'Frau Dagmar Hartopp' also smell divine. The only drawback to rugosas is that they tend to be exceptionally prickly.

One of my favorite roses, Rosa glauca or the red-leafed rose, has gorgeous foliage that is reddish when young and later takes on a blue cast. The single pink flowers appear once a year, followed by pretty orange oval-shaped hips.

A Chinese rose, Rosa mutabilis, sports butterfly-like flowers that change color from yellow to pink to red as they age. The hips that follow are like exquisite tiny red beads. They look wonderful in arrangements or on the plant and last well.

Any rose can get you through the summer, but a rose with great hips can get you through fall and beyond.

Rosa Glauca

Elisabeth — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:28:00 GMT

It's a funny time of year to write about roses, but yet I appreciate my Rosa glauca, sometimes known as the "red leaf rose" even more right now. The gray green leaves still cling to the arching stems, so the decorative qualities of the bush remain, even though the flowers are long gone. In certain lights, the leaves have an almost bluish cast. New growth and buds appear purplish-red and the flowers are light pink, with only five petals apiece.

Rosa glauca is a shrub that you can grow purely for its landscape value. I saw my first one, a was a large bush, over six feet tall, in a private garden. I discovered it on a misty day when it appeared almost ghostly (though graceful). I was so taken by its unique coloring that I went home and ordered one right away. Unlike flashier roses, Rosa glauca thrives in light shade. Flowering once a year, it also produces oval-shaped orange hips, which contrast beautifully with the glaucous foliage. If you can stand to cut them, the branches also look wonderful in indoor arrangements.

Most commercial Rosa glauca plants are grown on their own roots, which means that though they may start a bit smaller than grafted roses, they will be stronger and healthier in the long run. Should frost damage the canes--even killing them off to the ground--new ones will grow back true to the rose's type.

If you are starting to plan for next spring, consider Rosa glauca--lovely but not gaudy.

Growing Wise : Rosa glauca

HIps are In

Rosa Glauca