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["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

George,
   Rugosa likes sandy soils, will grow only too well in them though they 
languish in our clay.
   Beware of cultivars that are noted for continuous blooming, usually 
because they are sterile.  You want something that blooms, sets a crop of 
hips and ripens it.  There was an article in POMONA some years back by 
someone who found that their first 'Hansa' cultivar bloomed well but didn't 
set many hips.  He got a different 'Hansa' that bloomed less, but set lots 
of hips.
   Keep in mind too that all rose hips are not created equal.  I have 
'Carefree Beauty', a very successful rose that makes a lot of hips if you 
let it, but I don't think they'd be very useful as food.  They seem to stay 
hard and dull orange and then dry up.  The R. canina that I picked for rose 
hip syrup in England were brightly colored and succulent.  None are any good 
for eating because of the fuzzy seeds, but boiled and strained, they are 
both nutritious and very nice.   Donna