Home » Plants & Animals » Container Gardening » Tiny, Perfect Roses

Tiny, Perfect Roses

© Kathy Reiffenstein

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved miniature roses. Maybe their compact form bespeaks a sort of fragile elegance; or perhaps it’s because they are sweetly evocative of high school corsages. Whatever the reasons, these perfectly proportioned beauties occupy a special place in my container garden.

Offering all the delights of their bigger sisters, miniature roses are less fussy and more winter-hardy. Although minis can look like hybrid teas, floribundas, old garden roses or climbers, their abundant array of colors and forms falls under one simple classification: miniature.

It is thought that the first miniature rose arrived in Europe from China sometime in the 19th century. Brought to the US from Holland in 1935, it was appropriately renamed ‘Tom Thumb’. But the moniker of "the father of modern miniature roses" belongs to a rose breeder in central California, Ralph S. Moore. Over the past 65 years, Moore has introduced more than 300 miniature varieties, which have received 20 American Rose Society Awards of Excellence.

Thanks in large part to Moore’s efforts, miniature roses are available today in a myriad of shapes and colors and sizes. Here is just a small sample of what awaits you in the world of miniatures:

• Green Ice – buds are creamy white, showing a soft hint of green as they open. If grown in semi-shade, the green will be more pronounced. Green Ice has a spreading habit which makes it well suited for a hanging basket.

• Jean Kenneally – pale to medium apricot, this rose has an upright habit with large clusters of 10-12 blooms on mid-green foliage.

• Little Girl – this climber has long pointed buds that produce a profusion of salmon-pink blooms with practically thornless stems.

• Sweet Chariot – lavender to purple blend flowers have a powerful Damask fragrance. This is a vigorous, spreading plant.

• Black Jade – near black buds mature into elegant dark red blossoms. A vigorous plant, it has glossy dark foliage and an upright growth pattern.

Visit Uncommon Rose, Nor’East Miniature Roses, Michigan Mini Roses, and All-America Rose Selections to learn more about minis, browse or buy.

Miniature roses need the same care as standard roses: full sun (6-8 hours a day), fast-draining soil and lots of water (it’s important to soak the roots). When planting in a container, make sure it has adequate drainage. Use good quality potting soil and add 1 tablespoon Epsom salts and ¼ cup alfalfa meal. Minis have quite an appetite; I recommend using an organic fertilizer (like Maxsea), diluted, every couple of weeks, from a month before first bloom through until fall. Add an organic mulch to prevent water evaporation and enhance the soil.

The copyright of the article Tiny, Perfect Roses in Container Gardening is owned by . Permission to republish Tiny, Perfect Roses in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.