I too, like to have a few roses in my garden that produce hips. The birds certainly enjoy them and I use them in flower arrangements.

Hips are the fruit produced by a rose, which is actually a member of the apple family. Rose hips are high in vitamin C and used to prepare teas and jellies.

Deadheading your rose will prevent the plant from producing hips. Depending on the variety of rose you have, your plant is either a repeat bloomer or once blooming. If you have a once blooming rose there is no need to remove spent blooms as this is done primarily to promote new flowers. If you have a repeat blooming rose, stop deadheading around August and you should get enough hips for both you and your birds.

Here is a list of a few roses that produce hips:

• Ballerina
• Frau Karl Druschki
• Iceberg
• Mutabilis
• Old Blush
• R. banksia lutescens
• R. blanda (Meadow Rose)
• R. rugosa
• R. virginiana (Virginia Rose)
• Russell's Cottage
• Seven Sisters