El hip It is the fruit of the rose bush, specifically the dog rose, which is a beautiful shrub that grows up to 2 meters in height and produces simple but precious white or pink flowers.
It is a very easy plant to grow, so much so that it is relatively easy to get new specimens sowing its seeds.
When is the rose hip harvested?
The fruit of the dog rose must be collected in autumn, when it has acquired the characteristic bright red color that you can see in the header image. For this, we can use gardening scissors previously disinfected with alcohol, or even our hands, taking care not to break the stem of the plant.
Once we have them, We will place them on a flat surface and extract the seeds. The red part can be used for salads or to make jams, while the seeds will be thoroughly cleaned by removing any remaining pulp.
How are the seeds sown?
Vermiculite, ideal substrate for seedlings.
When we finally have the seeds very clean it will be time to put them in a glass of water for 24 hours. During that time, if they are viable they will sink. Those that remain floating will be discarded, since they will probably not germinate.
Then we will prepare a seedbed that we will fill with vermiculite, which is a perfect substrate for this purpose as it maintains moisture for a long time and is porous. We will place the seeds so that they are about 2cm apart, we cover them with a little substrate and water them.
In spring we will be able to obtain new specimens of dog rose, which will produce new rose hips.
What are the properties of the canine rose fruit?
Due to its high content of vitamin C, strengthens the immune system to such an extent that it is commonly used in respiratory infections. So now you know, if you want to prevent colds and similar pathologies, make yourself an infusion of rose hip 🙂.