Beauty Miniature Roses

With one small bush producing a dozen or more blooms that last for weeks, it’s no wonder potted miniature roses substitute for cut flowers so often. ProPlants’ mini roses come from growers who take pride in the genetic make-up and overall hardiness of their house plants. With these miniature rose care tips, your lovely little plant can bloom inside or outside for years to come.

Miniature Rose Care Basics

This overview of caring for miniature roses provides a firm basis in what’s needed to keep your plant healthy. In depth information about proper care during the miniature rose’s life cycle follows this section.

Placement: Miniature roses should get five to six hours of direct sun from a southern or western facing window daily. Turning the plant from time to time will encourage even growth. As the miniature rose plant needs consistent watering, a kitchen or sunny bathroom location near a water faucet is helpful.

Light: At least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. A west- or south-facing window provides sufficient light for the miniature rose. That said, because miniature roses do well so outside, many Americans like to put their roses on their patios many months of the year.

Temperature: Potted roses can live outside year round in USDA hardiness zones up to Zone 5 where it reaches -20° in winter. In zones 1-4, where winter temperatures reach -40°, miniature roses must move inside in fall. Indoor potted roses do well in temperatures that range between 60° at night and 70° during the day.

Potted roses acquired in warmer (zones 8 – 11) climates have a different need. Now kept indoors, these flowering plants need a cool period to enter a healthful dormant phase. That means that they must move outside in the winter to have access to cooler temperatures for several weeks.

Water: Because they have delicate, shallow roots, mini roses need abundant water in well-draining soil. They cannot tolerate drought. Water any time the top two inches of soil get dry, possibly daily. Try to water roses during the morning or at least by early afternoon to prevent fungus and bacteria from invading the plant.

Fertilizer: Fertilize rose flowers in early spring, as soon as frost danger has passed but after the plant has been pruned. Use a rose or balanced garden fertilizer with even 10-10-10 or 12-12-12 ratio at half manufacturers recommended strength every three weeks. Plants that are outside need more fertilizer than those kept inside as more photosynthesis occurs in direct sunlight.