Rosehip Run Down

Rosehip November, autumn I'll remember

Gold landing at our door, catch one leaf and

fortune will surround you evermore

                                  -Vashti Bunyan

Rosehips are a specialty branch that Sun Valley brings to market every fall.  How do we manage to get this impressive harvest?

Shocking OT Hybrid lilies, fall tulips, cotinus and rosehips, with our Willow Creek farm in the background.

Believe it or not but it starts in the middle of winter. One of the coldest jobs on the farm is to cut back the rosehips every January. A team heads out to our Willow creek farm and prunes the rose bushes all the way to the ground. They grow back really strong through spring and start to bloom in summer. Imagine a field of roses all giving off an amazing scent, this is the upside for the same crew with freezing hands and toes in January. The blooms need to be pollinated to create the hip, so we have local bee keepers bring in hives.  As I was out there last August, it was kind of scary since there aren’t just a few bees…there are thousands, and they are drunk on nectar and making enough honey to make any Pooh Bear drool.

Bee's are brought in to pollinate the rosehips.

Once the flowers are pollinated, the bloom falls off and the seed pod (a.k.a. the hip) will form. Scientifically this is the swollen ovary of the rose plant, ready for reproduction.  We maintain a steady supply of water to the field, and as the dry, chilly days of autumn come to Willow Creek the leaves naturally brown and fall off. This exposes our big, red rosehips. The roses are bred to provide the best hips, so this is why your roses at home don’t create hips like we offer.

Our roses develop into rosehips thanks to a few happy bees.

Since this crop is grown outside rather than in a greenhouse, we can’t control the harvest as much as other crops, like tulips.  When the rosehips come in, it’s all hands on deck to get them harvested and ready to sell. Right now our crew is picking big numbers of rosehip stems, and they are selling at about the same rate. (Hint! Hint!)

CA Grown rosehips, ready to ship.

One reason this product is big for Sun Valley is that due to agricultural restrictions, rosehips can’t be imported into the United States.  You will often hear the benefits of buying American Grown flowers, however, in this case you don’t have a choice!  Sun Valley is the major producer, so check in on current availability.

By about mid-December, we must be done picking as the weather turns for the worst. A few weeks later in January, the process starts again.

Rosehips in August, still developing.

At home or in the design studio, make sure to keep the rosehips in water. They are still drinking water and will start to look a little like raisins if they don’t stay hydrated.

A beautiful autumn table arrangement, featuring rosehips, Sumatra lilies, red tulips, brassica, and a variety of Christmas Greens...all available from Sun Valley Floral Farm.

Design wise, rose hips are extremely versatile and fit the holiday color palette perfectly. Thanks to Pieter Landman who designed the two above arrangements.

To get deeper into the history of rosehips check out this post: What is Hip?