Sacred Succulents has a hip rose they say is good for eating, with a mild pineapple flavor: a cultivar of Rosa roxburghii, the sweet chestnut rose. I’ve been meaning to acquire one for breeding (it’s a diploid, as is pomifera/villosa; I think rugosa is tetraploid), but I haven’t taken the time to do so.
http://sacredsucculents.com/medicinals-edibles-other-plants-of-interest/
I got an R. roxburghii from Almost Eden Plants. It’s a tough rose so far, but while it handles some dryness, it seems a heavy drinker… I recently put dishes underneath most of my potted plants to keep them hydrated a bit longer, and the rose always empties it’s dish in a couple of hours, suckin’ it all up. I wonder if it’s the roots, or just the extra absorbent soil.
From Raintree I got a Rosa pomifera, and a diploid R. rugosa “Jubilee”, but I didn’t re-pot the Jubilee in time, so I didn’t realize it was developing root rot until it was too late, and I lost it (with the speed of drainage, I had thought it was drying out instead). I’m going to try for another one as soon as I’m able. The pomifera has been growing well so far, sending out new branches from the base.
With what happened to the Jubilee, I wonder if I should remove the Roxburgh’s dish. The pomifera is in a bigger pot, no dish.
Lots of vitamin c! During the world wars rose hips were an important source of vitamin c and could be gathered wild.