Blog - Indoor Green Guide

Mini roses are known as common house plants, but they are best grown outdoors with sufficient sunlight. Plant mini roses in your garden, water them every 1-2 days, and fertilize them every 3 weeks. You can easily grow mini roses in either your garden or as an indoor plant. Mini roses are roses that have been selectively varied to stay small in size. Mostly mini rose plants have smaller flowers than standard rose bushes, but they come in the same variety of types and colors. In spite of their small size, mini roses are extremely hardy. Miniature roses How to Grow Miniature Roses How to Grow Miniature Roses? Plant mini roses the same way as full-size roses. Dig the hole the same depth as the pot it came in and a foot wider. Remove it from the pot and gently loosen the roots. If it is root bound, cut the sides of the root ball and then try to loosen the roots. First, you should add some organic matter to your pot for indoors or to the hole if you are planting them outside. You should then put the rose in the center of the pot or hole and spread out the roots and give it a good watering. Add some fertilizer to the soil in the hole, if your soil needs it. Place the rose plant in the center of the hole, with the roots spread out. Fill in the hole with soil and gently firm it down then water the newly planted bush and apply a layer of mulch. Most of the mini rose plants do not grow or graft, so in colder climates, gardeners don’t need to worry about covering or mulching the bud. Gardeners in warmer climates won’t need to be concerned about suckers from the rootstock. Light Mini roses flower in full sun. plants and flowers will become sparse in shady conditions. Soil If you are planting your miniature roses in the ground, make sure to use loamy, and well-draining soil. If you are planning on planting them indoors, you should use a potting soil that is for planting roses in indoor pots Remember that roses like and prefer rich, well-drained, and loamy soil. Water The water required by mini rose plants will depend on your soil and weather. There is a general rule that you should try to provide at least 1 inch of water each week. During hot, dry days you will need to water more frequently. Be sure that you water deeply and the soil is wet about 12 or more inches below the surface. Try to avoid getting the leaves wet during moist weather to help discourage fungal diseases. Temperature and Humidity Although mini roses do quite well in pots and people find them sold as houseplants, many gardeners are disappointed by their performance indoors. Just like regular roses, they like and need full sun and medium humidity. Mini roses are easy enough to provide in summer, but humidity drops significantly when the heat comes on indoors and your roses will quickly become dry. Mini roses given as gifts will do best. Fertilizer Roses can be heavy feeders and since mini roses continue flowering all season, regular fertilizing is necessary. You can use any commercial rose food or general fertilizer, be sure to follow the label instructions to keep your plant healthy: • Feed when the bush first leaves out. • Feed after each heavy flush of bloom. • About 6 to 8 weeks before the first expected frost stop feeding them to discourage new growth that could be killed back during winter. Mini roses may look weak with their tiny blooms, but they are an amazingly hardy plant. Although roses have a significant variety to curtail their size, they retain much of the hardiness of rose bushes that tower over them in size. Many can be grown outside year-round in zones 6 through 10 and will stay alive to zone 4 if heavily mulched and protected from winter weather. Mini roses need the same care requirements as normal roses, with the exception of water. Because they are so small, miniature roses have thin roots and need to be watered more often than standard rose bushes. Set your mini rose plant where it will receive plenty of sunlight. Outdoor roses should be in full sunlight. Indoor mini roses should be placed on a south or west-facing window where they will be exposed to at least five hours of direct sun exposure. Turn container-grown roses once a week so all sides of the plant are exposed to the sun. Plants that do not receive enough sunlight become skinny and weak. 1. Keep your rose plant nice and warm, but not too hot. Even though they can tolerate extreme temperatures, they grow best in mild daytime temperatures of around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and 60 F at night. Continued temperatures below 50 F will cause the plant to stop flowering. 2. Water frequently enough so that the soil is moist, but not soggy. Overly wet soil, especially in pot-grown mini roses, can cause root rot or other fungi problems. Wait until the top inch or so of the soil is dry, and then water nicely. 3. Fertilize your mini rose’s plant starting in the spring, and every three weeks after that until August. Use a balanced fertilizer and apply according to the directions as per the size and age of your mini rose plant. 4. Deadhead, or pluck off, exhausted flower. This encourages the plant to produce more flowers. 5. Trim your rose plant during the dormant season. Although it may appear counter-intuitive to cut back a growing plant, it actually creates a healthier rosebush that will flower more plentifully. Wait until the end of winter or early spring, and then cut away any dead, dying, or broken branches. You should also prune the healthy branches back to just above a five-leaflet leaf. Warning Spider mites can be a problem in mini rose plants, especially those grown indoors. Check your plants carefully for any tiny insects or bugs and spray with an insecticide if needed. Below is a link to Amazon where you can get a fertilizer with insect control. When you plant make sure you give your mini rose a well-draining garden location that gets six or more hours of sunlight per day. The best soil is loose, acidic soil, which is easy for thin roots to penetrate. Water the mini rose nicely and frequently to keep its thin roots from dehydrating. During hot weather, you may need to water daily. Watch the plant for signs of dehydration, including drooping buds and flowers and graying foliage. You can water with a drip system or soaker whenever the top inch of soil is dry to be sure that the plant is getting enough water.