Rosa rugosa / Caragana seedballs for sandy soil

I have a problem to establish a hedge/living fence on my sandy soil - it's a hill, facing south, so despite of mulch plants dry out in summer. I was using seedlings before, now I'm thinking about using seeds and planting much much denser - perhaps they give each other some shade.

I have some of Rosa rugosa and Caragana seeds, but no experience in making seedballs. I have of course unlimited supply of my sandy soil, some clay, some cow manure and a bit of compost. How to make the best use of it? I should add, that rosa rugosa seeds require stratification so I was thinking about sowing them now, they should sptout in spring. Also, shall seedballs be just thrown on the ground, or rather buried?

i have no experience with cargana, though i have been curious about it, but i have some experience starting roses from seed which is very difficult. i'm usually very good at starting just about anything from seed but its one of the most challenging plants to start from seed. i have managed to get a few out of a big batch of seeds, so plant way more than you want.

not trying to discourage you, it can be done, just to say if you dont get good results immediately its not unusual. you will need patience, it can take up TWO YEARS for a rose seed to sprout, though more often 6 months to a year at least. if i were going for a hedge like that with roses, i would either try cuttings or plants instead.

i dont think it would be good to just drop them on the ground, rather bury them not too deep. you might experiment with it, like doing cold strat in the fridge, some in pots over wintered outside, and some direct seeded.

i have read that being passed through the digestive tract of an animal, mostly birds, will help them germinate faster, but how one could try to apply this??? lol =)

i have tried doing a very long cold strat in fridge, taking them out for a bit to warm up, and then doing another cold strat in fridge and got a couple of seeds out of many to sprout. i also have a lot of them in pots and just let them be over wintered outside, and had a few sprout that way.

another issue is they need to be totally ripe, they arent truly ripe enough when the hips look good, not until the hip looks all brown and way past its prime. so hopefully the seeds you have are a darker color.

rugosa rose is way easier than most roses though, i just recently got some white rosa rugosa and keep trying to sprout them!

good luck

Thanks for your reply I have tried a number of things last year - cold stratification in fridge, overwintering in peat moss outside, etc. All these worked, the problem was I was unable to produce enough seedlings, and those which I have produced died in the unusually hot summer. I have a lot of seeds of rosa rugosa, so trying to find now a method that allows me to produce plenty of seedlings in place where the hedge suppose to be. That's why I was thinking about seed balls.

Rosa Rugosa grows well from roots, it spreads rhizomatically. Do you know anyone who has them growing? A cutting of a neighbor's plant/roots will grow at my place. In fact it can be persistent and spreading. Lovely big petals and fat hips I don't grow it currently but loads of it grows wild within a bikeride of my farm. It tolerates sand and salt well. I have never tried to propagate it from seed but I'll try this year.

Start them indoor in the summer, in late fall/rainy season plant the young trees, and let them develop root in the rainy season

Interesting, might try that as well. A bit risky though since we use to have frost/snow in November that lasts till March/April, but worth trying.

Matu Collins wrote:Rosa Rugosa grows well from roots, it spreads rhizomatically. Do you know anyone who has them growing? A cutting of a neighbor's plant/roots will grow at my place. In fact it can be persistent and spreading. Lovely big petals and fat hips I don't grow it currently but loads of it grows wild within a bikeride of my farm. It tolerates sand and salt well. I have never tried to propagate it from seed but I'll try this year.

I have planted cuttings, we will see what happens ...

leila hamaya wrote:

i have read that being passed through the digestive tract of an animal, mostly birds, will help them germinate faster, but how one could try to apply this??? lol =)

Try soaking in vinegar or even sulfuric acid.