Tips on Growing Miniature Roses

Credit: Brand X Pictures/Home and Garden/Alison Miksch

Miniature roses make ideal container plants. Read on for tips and suggestions from Christine Allen and the GardenWise staff on making the most of them.

Three for Good Luck
Miniature roses are ideal for container planting. Don’t scrimp. Place three in a 30-cm (12″) pot for a good show. Protected from freezing in winter and with a good pruning in spring, they will last for several years.

Best Picks for Containers
‘Green Ice’ (with its contrasting green foliage) and ‘Sweet Chariot’ (with its lightly scented blackberry-jam-and-cream-coloured flowers and naturally trailing stems) are two excellent container roses. A half-barrel-sized container will easily accommodate a miniature climbing rose. Try ‘Laura Ford’ (yellow) or ‘Warm Welcome’ (tangerine with plum-tinged foliage). With support they’ll grow to 2 m (6.5 ft.) in height.

Make Them Mobile
Plant your roses in containers that are easily moved, as roses lose all of their leaves while they are dormant and typically look dead in winter. Keep them in a protected area that is out of view until the leaves begin to sprout in early summer.

Nutrients are Necessary
Roses should be potted in a soil-based medium with a generous helping of well-rotted manure. It’s also imperative that the pot have good drainage.

Create a Bouquet Effect with Wicker
A wicker basket makes a beautiful companion container to a planting of miniature roses. Line the basket with plastic and make slits to ensure good drainage. Plant your favourite miniature roses. Pretty annuals, such as sapphire-blue lobelia and pretty white alyssum can be used to fill in between your roses, creating the effect of a basket bouquet.