Everything about rose hips: species, use, plant yourself

Who does not know them: The small fruits of the wild rose family, better known as rose hips. They are versatile, tasty and healthy. Good reasons to explore the red fruits a little more closely.

Small and round, long and narrow, buxom and chubby: rose hips come in many sizes, shapes and shades. The spectrum ranges from light orange to dark red - even black rose hips can be found.

Since there are many types of wild roses, there are also numerous rose hip variants (clockwise from top right): Bibernell rose, gloss rose, potato rose, dune rose, Rosa hibernica, multi-flowered rose. The names for the red fruits also vary: "Hiffen", "Rosenäpfel" or "Hetschepetsche".

Photo: Flora Press / Christine Ann Föll

The most common types of rose hips

Bibernell rose (Rosa spinosissima)	Flowers May-June, white, up to 1.8 meters high, runners, beautiful autumn leaves
Gloss rose (Rosa nitida)	Flowers June-July, pink, up to 1 meter high, runners, beautiful autumn leaves
Potato rose (Rosa rugosa)	Flowering June-September, pink, up to 1.5 meters high, runners
Dune rose (Rosa carolina)	Flowering in June, pink, up to 2 meters high, strongly runners
Rosa hibernica	Bloom in June, light pink, up to 1.5 meters high, runners, beautiful autumn leaves
Many-flowered rose (Rosa multiflora)	Flowering June-July, white, in clusters, 3 to 4 meters high and wide
Dog rose (Rosa canina)	Flowering June, pink, 2 to 3 meters high, fast-growing, broad

The rose hip fruits provide a splash of color and variety in the garden, and they are also very robust: the red roundlings can easily withstand the cold and are usually still edible even after winter

/ ArTDi101

How do rose hips come about?

The red fruits arise from the goblets of over two hundred predominantly wild rose species. But classic garden roses, such as damask rose, can also form rose hips. What you have to put up with for this: withered flowers have to stop. This costs some stamina, but will be richly rewarded with the later rose hip splendor. Did you know that rose hips also differ in taste? And that many varieties even smell light? Depending on the species, they can be found on the edges of the forest and in wild hedges from August to December.

The tones of the rosehip fruit range from bright orange to a juicy red - there are even black varieties. But the associated rose plants also have their charm: they are easy to care for, sometimes grow bushy and can even grow up to three meters high.

Photo: GAP / GAP Photos

Many in one fell swoop

For botanists, rose hips are not real fruits such as B. cherries, but so-called collective fruits: in each one there are dozens of small individual fruits, the nutlets. They are covered with fine barbed hair that can itch quite a bit when it comes into contact with skin.

Attention! The rosehip seeds itch because of their small hairs on the skin. Children like to use them to make itch powder. If you process the fruit into jam or mush, you have to remove the nuts - otherwise it will scratch the throat.

Rose hips are found in the last half of the year. The exact times of the individual rose types can be found in this table.

Photo: the house

Rose hips not only look good in nature, but also as an autumn decoration in a vase. Wreaths and arrangements can now also be made great with rose hips

/ Iuliia Chugai

Attractant in red

The fruits are also an important source of food for our birds - so don't be upset if they were there before you again. You'd rather have the pleasure of drying rose hips as bird food for the winter. For example, you can tie some twigs in boxwood wreaths: they are a nice decoration for indoors and are only hung on the balcony or terrace outside when there is snow and ice.

Birds (like this willow warbler) also love rose hips. The fruits are a popular food source for numerous animal species. Small animals also find protection from predators between the branches of thorny wild rose bushes.

Beautys for the home

If you don't want to go with the hedge trimmer towards the forest and meadow, you can get beautiful rose hip branches from the florist. Or you can plant a wild rose in your own garden, such as a dog rose. Almost all game species are comparatively easy to care for, but are often difficult to find in stores. The best way to do this is to contact specialized companies and specialist dealers (e.g. via www.naturgarten.org).

It takes patience to grow rose hips yourself, because depending on the type, the seeds have a long germination time. It is best to store the fruit cool and dry until sowing, for example on bird sand.

Photo: GAP / Mark Winwood

Would you like a taste?

The rosehip pulp tastes pleasantly sweet and sour - give it a try. You can eat it raw, just remove the nuts beforehand! Vitamin C is responsible for the acidity. There is plenty of this in the fruit; plus vitamins A and B and minerals: great protection against the cold! The gourmets can be processed into jam and mush, tea and liqueur. Rosehip pulp serves as the basis for many recipes: free the fruit from flower remnants and stems, cook gently for about 30 minutes and pass through the "Flotte Lotte" or brush through a metal sieve (the seeds must be removed completely). You can find a recipe for rosehip jam right here:

It is very easy to cook jam from rose hips. It tastes particularly fantastic with cheese.

Photo: Lina Eriksson for LV book

Ingredients for approx. 60 g rose hip jam:

500 g fresh rose hips

1 pinch of real vanilla powder

1 organic lemon, finely grate the zest

70 g fariny sugar

200 g of fine sugar

Preparation of rosehip jam

1. Clean, core and roughly chop rose hips.
2. Place in a saucepan with vanilla powder, zest and juice of a lemon. Cook covered over low heat for 10 minutes until the rose hips are tender. Add a little water and let it boil.
3. Add farin sugar and fine sugar. Bring to a boil over low heat and simmer for another 15-20 minutes.
4. Carry out a jam test.
5. Fill in warm, well cleaned glasses. Close.

The recipe comes from Malin Landqvist's "Jam, Saft & Sylt". This book contains 90 recipes for local berries and fruits. Published by the publisher LV-Buch; 96 pages: 14.95 euros. You can order the book here

Photo: LV book

Sense of Home- houseplants for shady places

Make it easier for you to find a suitable houseplant for your home. Visit the Sense of Home online shop and find houseplants that can handle shady conditions and look great.

Photo: iStock / dropStock