I have 3 x The Garland which produces many hundreds of flowers, followed my many hundreds of small bright red hips that look great during winter and provide food for the birds. So whilst producing hips will take energy from the plant, it doesn't seem to make any difference to the rate of growth or health. I also have a couple of climbing roses that produce big red hips too. A couple of other climbing roses I have do not produce hips at all. I dead head all my shrub roses, so no hips on any of them.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Thanks all. I'm going to hard prune my climbers when they're dormant so I wanted to be sure that they were as strong as possible. I suppose that as pruning off the hips is likely to encourage more leaf growth, it doesn't make much difference either way. It would be interesting to see the hips. I've never allowed them to develop before.
If your variety of rose is known for hips it's a good idea to let them develop because, although you lose flowers, you extend the time when they are very attractive.
No. They are an asset - both aesthetically and for wildlife. I tend to grow once flowering roses and wildlings, so the heps are a much-loved aspect of the display. Madame Gregoire Staechelin has enormous orange heps which look almost oriental. Worth having the rose for its autumn/winter display of rosehips.
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So whilst producing hips will take energy from the plant, it doesn't seem to make any difference to the rate of growth or health.
I also have a couple of climbing roses that produce big red hips too.
A couple of other climbing roses I have do not produce hips at all.
I dead head all my shrub roses, so no hips on any of them.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
But it's hard to let them develop hips, isn't it? I deadhead to the death in the hope of just a few more blooms.