Roses to Produce Rosehips

I recently placed another order with you. This included the rose bushes dog rose, Alba Semiplena & Apothecary. Because I had concerns with the hardiness of these roses where I live, very southern Alberta, I e-mailed you with my concerns. You told me that the dog rose is probably not a good choice for here and you recommmended Coup d' Hebe. What I wanted the dog rose for was the rose hips. Is your alternative a good choice? Please hold the rose part of my order until I am sure of what I am ordering.

None of the books I consulted mentioned anything about the ability of Coup d'Hebe to produce hips. I suspect it may only produce a few. York and Lancaster is renowned for the quantity of hips it produces and would be a good choice for you.
All old roses will produce the occasional hip and these should be left on beginning about a month to six weeks before the first frost to signal the plant to get ready for winter. At that time also give the plants a thorough watering to make sure the do not go into winter with dry soil. It will prevent frost damage of the roots.

One other question is why do you use all grafted roses?

Our supplier produces only grafted roses and we therefore do not have any choice. However grafted roses will produce flowers more quickly than own root plants. By planting the graft below the soil line, the bush will soon produce roots above the graft and you then have the best of both worlds. The only problem may be that the root stock might send up shoots which you will have to be sure to prune away.