Depends on the mini. I have minis (Incognito for one) that are as large (in plant size) as a couple of my floribundas. So, be careful when spacing out these "little" guys, you may be a BIG surprise!

No, I'm aware of that, I put in some annuals just for color. I want to add some more minis but I'm going to wait until early summer to see the size of what I have planted. I do have 2 of the 3 foot minis that I know can spread that wide so I do have room to grow and I have a whole back yard to "sread out". I'm still getting some growth and a little flowering is about to happen again. I probably did jump the gun but I wanted these in for next year. I know that out of all these there will be some that won't make it and I will have the fun of choosing some new ones to replace it or will know that I need the space for some of the existing ones I do have. I plotted my space and went outside with my list and laid down a plant stake with the size on each one, but I can still be surprised by nature..:) I do love full size roses, but I have terrible non stop headaches and can't keep up with the care of them, that's why I switched to minis. I'm not criticizing the full roses, not at all, my best memories are watching and talking with my grandma as she gardened. As I care for mine I imagine her close and hear her talking to me.... Please don't think I think minis are better.

Hiya Leslie,
It'S tripleb. Although I am still wet behind the years (I know nothing practically, only what I have gotten by picking all your brains) but we just moved into a condo with no personal garden space save my own "slab o' concrete". Just guessing that minis are the only roses I will be able to accomodate here, in pots. The fact that I will be able to have them right outside my own door scores points for me! (yah, like I NEED another gardening addiction!)

Hi Trish! There are some terrific minis for you to choose from. And alot of people out there who successfully grow in pots year round in your zone to help you out. The mini nursery I use is on the internet but I don't believe they ship to your area, but there are others who are just as good. They gave you some nice vendors to choose from. How many do you want to grow? Or should I ask how many are you going to start with??? It depends if you have a fair amount of space you may be able to do some of the smaller rose types, There are several different sizes of minis also, some of them can get about 3 feet tall also. I'll be watching for your posts and anytime you want to email me feel, free, I've got about 27 minis planted at this time. I do have two in pots and may try to experiment and take them through the winter that way, they were gifts. Both are white roses by the way...Roses are a lot of fun and I really enjoy having a few to bring inside to put in my mini vases. That will be very pretty to look outside your door and see the roses you have planted there too, besides being convenient:) Talk to you soon. Leslie

another nice thing about minis in containers, is that you can move them so easily, so they always get the best sun. then use them to decorate the patio when you have guests

Lefty I sure wish I could grow in containers, well I do have two that I was given as gifts. Surprisingly they've survived the 100+ heat all summer, could have knocked me down. I have a brown thumb for growing roses in pots! I would really love to be able to do that, they would sprout up all over the place around my house if I could... I follow directions with the soil and how to, I even got a water meter and still they all died one by one. Now let me put a brand new mini in the ground in 90+ heat and I can coax 27 roses now to grow even with 100+ temps following for another month and a half, but not in a pot.

No zone envy here, pot growing envy:)

Leslie, one thing I learned about pots is that even if you think you are watering them well, the water could just be going around the sides of the pot and not soaking the soil in the center of the pot. The type of potting soil matters a lot too. I have lots a few that I thought had a lot of water, but when taken out of the pot were bone dry in the center. I have been using Miracle Gro Moisture Control for the past year, that holds moisture all of the way through very well. I still like ProMix, but that does need some loosening. I'm pretty pot-happy these days, eyes are bigger than my garden space!

Diane, I did pot them with Miracle Gro moisture control. First I put a few rocks in the bottom, then some perlite, then the miracle grow and I put this in a 6" pot and I got the minis in 2" pots. So, maybe I started them out in too big of a pot. Initially they did very well, I was careful not to let water accumulate in the tray underneath, I dumped out any extra water not absorbed within an hour or two. Then they started yellowing and I tried not watering more and even with the moisture said they were moist they weren't wet the only one I had success with was a climber that I put on another side of the house. I even switched with some of the minis and put them over there also and eventually they all failed also. I would love to grow in pots, I really would and I may try again if I can just find out what I do wrong! So any extra ideas I'd welcome them.. Thanks, Leslie

Yes, I don't put anything in the bottom of the pots, no rocks no anything, and I don't mix in any perlite just the potting mix itself, and absolutely no tray below the pot. Even if you empty the tray, there is still too much water being held. Definitely sounds like not draining fast enough. I start them in just a little larget pot than I get them in, and move them up when I see the roots come out of the bottom of the pots. The really vigorous ones will go into a 12 - 14" terra cotta colored plastic pot on the second repotting, which is usually their final home.

Diane, so this may have been my other mistake then. Not only did I put them in too big a pot. I painted a dozen 6" clay pots and then sealed with varnish, at least 3 to 4 coats inside and out.... The climbing mini was put into a 10 gallon vinyl pot with a tray and potted with small rocks and perlite at the bottom and the same miracle grow moisture control. This climbing mini came in a 4 inch pot and was already a foot tall. So, I compounded my mistake probably with the painted and varnished clay pots? My girlfriend thinks the varnish comes off and bothers the roses. It doesn't seem to bother regular plants planted in them. Except, I have been growing a grocery store white rose all summer in one of these now. However, the one from the grocery store came root bound and in a 4" pot.

So, in the spring, I'm going to nix the clay pots and try it with the plastic or are vinyl ok? And no trays underneath. And, if this works for me, I thank you very, very much! I figure my yard can hold a max of 12 full size rose bushes and that is if I can physically keep up with taking care of them, that's why the first 6 I'm going to get are going to be my experiment to see if I can. I get terrible daily headaches and sometimes down for long periods of time and why minis are easy for me to manage. That is why I would really like to be able to pot. With my huge dog and my mini rose bed full now, pots are about the only other way I can go. So, thank you, I appreciate your time telling me this. And when you do pot them up, do you treat them with miracle gro shock transplant or just some rose fertilizer or do you wait a week and then fertilize? So, I think I will take the two roses I do have potted up through our winter and see what happens. They are right up against the front of the house which doesn't get much wind on a plant stand. My lowest temp at night when it comes in a month or so will be about 30 and days when they come will be about 50. So, I'll use these 2 that I do have as an experiment to see if I can successfully winter roses as well. I may after they've shed their leaves put them on the back porch totally out of the elements but if I leave them where they are they'll get an occasionally rainfall, especially if I remove the trays from under them.... Thank you Diane, I appreciate it.

I do have Keith's Delight, a low climber planted in the front flower bed which is going to have near white flowers tinted with yellow and pink blooms and it's going gang busters now, it's grown over a foot since I planted it, all nice dark green healthy foilage since I planted it and there's a white iceberg planted in the front flower bed.
Leslie

Leslie, good luck with those headaches. That can't be fun. I wanted to mention that all my roses are in pots and I've had no problem with them. But plastic pots without trays are definitely the way to go. I have only 2 clay pots now, and those are decorative glazed pots my wife got me as gifts. In my climate, even with glazing to slow down evaporation, the pots can bake the poor rose roots. What I've resorted to for the pots I want to use is to plant the bush in a plastic pot that can fit inside the clay pot. Then I slip in a layer of fine bark mulch as an insulator against the heat. Seems to be working beautifully. Those clay pots are both about 12" diameter. So I only put the smallest minis in those. Most of my minis grow 20 to 30 inches high eventually, so they end up in 15 to 18 inch diameter pots.
I usually transplant gradually up pot sizes as has been recommended on this thread. But I've found on occasion when I plant a new purchase directly into a large pot, it usually also does well. There have only been a few that seemed totally lost in their big pots or didn't grow as quickly as I expected. Most end up building up size respectibly within the first year. It's hard to say if the larger pot size made a difference or not. Sometimes I feel like too small a pot keeps the plant stunted; as with bonsai.

That makes sense, so I've been cooking the minis in the clay pots, even more so with the glazed pots. I have a hard time retaining things for long so I intend to print this out and try it in the spring. I'm going to repot the plant I have now in a glazed pot then because it doesn't really have enough room for water and it's outgrown the pot somewhat also I think. And repot another who's roots have grown out of the soil that I put on another thread. I do want to try more in pots in the spring, I wouldn't want to try now, my weather is getting too cool. Thanks for talking with me, my miniature bed is pretty full and I'd really like to grow more, I only stopped because of my brown thumb and pots. That'd be great to grow any size mini in a pot. That would be great for me to grow a mini in a pot:) I'll let you (collectively) know if I can bring these two through the winter.

I look forward to discussing more about minis on here. I believe you're growing the bright red ones? Mine are mostly pinks to lavenders, oranges and whites. I need to set out a list on my profile, I have 2 mini climbers and a small mini climber started with about 23 other minis growing so far. Leslie

leslie,

one bit of wisdom i can offer as an experienced carpenter and cabinet maker is that the paint/varnish that you used, (i'm assuming an exterior grade spar varnish) will not harm your plants once it is fully cured. this usually takes from 7-10 days. even though it may appear to be very dry, it does not reach a full cure for days afterward. then it is insoluable as well as inert. i prefer to use shellac as it is alcholol based, and cures much faster. i even use it to seal the ends of pruned canes to help guard against cane borers.

chris

Chris that's good to know as this is a popular craft for my 6 grandkids, paint grandma some pots:) First thing they do when they hit the house, can we paint pots? Still if I can use the pots as decorative outsides and have them do even bigger ones this will still work, thanks. Keeps them busy for hours....I'm assuming a shellac will still work over an acrylic water based paint. Thanks for offering that info and saving the craft. Leslie

What I like about miniatures is that they take less time to care for them, don't take up as much room, and they cost less (under $10 a plant as oppossed to about $25 for a fortuniana grafted rose). Since all of mine are in pots they are easy to give away if I want to replace it with something else. They are easy to move around. My self impossed 20 plant limit is now up to about 30. Some of them are still in their 4" pots, mere infants! I had been caring for more than 100 roses at my last house and about 60 of those were large roses. It became a burden! What fun is that?

I like to go to rose shows too. I feel like I have at least a half a chance of winning with minis and NO chance with hybrid teas!

I'll throw in my two cents worth on headaches...I ditched the MD and went for alternative medicine (Ayurveda) and am currently headache free!

Laura! Tell me more please. I've had non stop 24/7 severe headaches & migraines for 26 years now. On a scale of 10 for pain they're a 8 or 9. Just found a fix maybe on the migaines, Topomax, haven't had a migraine in 7 weeks which is unheard of for me, usually I have 4 migraines in 4 weeks every month, month after month, year after year.
Leslie

Well, excuse what I said about headaches sorry, please feel free to stop by and comment about what you like best about miniature roses:)
Leslie