the sunshine in the early morning on a fall day cannot be matched. the way the sunbeams fall through my rose shrub is beautiful. i have to stop and appreciate the beauty of the leaves and the rose hips.
it has taken several years for my rose to grow rose hips. the entire top of my tree is a collection of the fruit of the rose plant. they are red-orange in color and form after successful pollination, ripening through the late summer into autumn.
i have enjoyed them so very much, although i do not plan to collect them or use them this year for jam or syrup. i do find them very fascinating, and appreciate their beauty and ornamental value.
one way to encourage rose hips to form is to leave the spent rose blossoms on the tree, and do not prune them off. this is why the entire top of my tree is filled with rose hips. i do not climb a ladder to prune the blossoms regularly, so hips form at the uppermost section of my shrub. the tree’s maturity also contributes to the formation of hips.
roses are from the same family as apples and crab apples, so the leaves and hips are quite similar in character.
angel food garden 