My neighbor has done that with many of them from TJ's. One is six feet tall, disease free, and constantly covered with 3" diameter flowers. Others remain 6" tall and are constantly covered with mildew and rust.

I guess the strategy is to try them, keep the good ones, and throw out the baddies.

I have tried but they always croak. I am sure they are grown in laboratories, steeped in rooting hormone and flowering hormones. They are not bred for growing in nature, they are bred for being little and pretty for a quick sale, so I say GOOD JOB! to those above who have actually gotten them to grow.

Carla in Sac

As I acquire mini roses (seems like I get one as a gift every couple years) I just put them out in the backyard in the front of the border. They get watered along w/the lawn, and seem to do well. The colors don't hold up well, seems like they bleach out in too much sun.

Like others, I've just planted the outdoors, and they will grow to about 5-6 feet tall. They don't require any special attention in my experience.

Thanks everyone. Sounds like the results are mixed. It also sounds like some stay mini, some grow big, and some are climbers! Mine is so beautiful, and sentimental, that I want to give it a shot.

Definitely transplant it into a pot with a quality potting soil. It should be ok. Not so sure about the annuals around it. For now, I think it would be better off alone in a pot. It has been through a lot in its life, so transplant alone for now is probably best. If it's really small, annuals might grow up and overwhelm it. Also, not a giant pot, just upsized from whatever it is in now. Full sun after a day or two in the shade. Clip off spent roses as they die off. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks, Socks. I agree with you about the annuals... best to give it a home of its own without the root competition, at least until it gets its feet down. It's in a very small (3") pot now, so I'd like to use a pot large enough for it to grow through summer until I can plant it out in the fall, or in a larger container at that time.

Well, I set it in the sun for a few hours on Friday.... then forgot about it. It was in the sun most of Saturday as well. And yesterday, I found it still there, the leaves looking parched. :-( It's still in the original 4" pot (I haven't transplanted it yet) and the buds still look OK, but the foliage is shot.

I'll plant it today in a new pot and keep it shaded until it recovers.

Leaves are still parched but I lightly scratched a stem and saw green. Potted it up today in a larger (2x) plastic pot with drainage holes inside a ceramic pot. I'll keep it in bright shade until it recovers.

It's just me and might not even be correct--but I'd take it out of the ceramic pot for now. It will get better air circulation and not stay too wet outside of the second pot. Let us know how it goes. You are right to keep it shaded.

socks, that makes sense. It's in the shade anyway so it should be fine without the additional protection of the ceramic pot. When it starts to recover and I start introducing a little more sun, I can move it back to the ceramic pot for protection. The ceramic pot is not a tight fit so there is plenty of space between it and the plastic pot.

I just purchased one from Safeway (a mini yellow Parade Rose) to give as a little gift to my dinner hostess tonight. I love that it looks so beautiful and that it has the faint scent of rose. I would much prefer to receive a potted rose with scent, than cut roses without.