I'm from So. CA drought/warm area and one of my first newbie mistakes was planting a miniature rose (Glowing Amber) in a terra cotta pot. It baked as if it had been in a clay oven. People on the garden web advised me to plant roses in plastic pots. I found some pretty good sized pots at the 99 Cent dollar store. They will do for now until the roses are ready for a larger pot, or to be planted in the ground. The first year, roses are busy growing roots. These photographs were taken earlier in the season. Roses are getting ready to sleep this time of year.

Get them out of those terra cotta pot's and into plastic pots. I have several "throw away" mini's that I've had for several years. Getting them through the first year was the hardest part. Their root systems aren't exactly the strongest in the world coming from the store. I'm lucky that I have a large Oak tree out back and I put them under there for about 6 months. Usually they put out new growth and do well. I've had a few that flat out refuse to do anything and die, no matter what I did.

â¢Posted by ken-n.ga.mts 7a/7b (wilkis6751@yahoo.com) on Sun, Jan 4, 15 at 14:37

Ken, these keep getting black spots for me. So, I have to keep them indoors. I have them for many years. I think the most difficult time for me is December. All my minis lost are lost in December. The pot needs to be small and the soil needs to be airy and dry in December. When the days get longer and longer, I notice the plant springs back and needs more water as soon as January.

You're losing them in December because they are not getting enough light. December days are the shortest and being inside reduces their light even more. Besides that your house is too dry. Roses like fairly high humidities and I'm sure your house isn't nearly humid enough for them. .

Roses make very poor house plants. I know that you don't like the black spot but they will always do better outside. You have 3 choices, find ones that don't spot in your climate, spray for black spot regularly or learn to live with some spotting. It really won't kill them and it only happens when the weather conditions are just right for it. Then they leaf back out and bloom again and they're beautiful!

â¢Posted by seil z6b MI (My Page) on Fri, Jan 9, 15 at 18:50

It is the easiest to have disease resistant roses planted outdoors.

So, based on your experience, the seemingly "unprovoked" blacking of canes is caused by a lack of light?

Hi guys, Thanks for the advice. The thing is, i put them in the terracotta pots because all the ones i had put in the plastic pots rotted. So I thought the plastic pots were retaining too much moisture, so I moved them to terra cotta pots to let the roots breath a bit. No I'm not sure what to do. I dont think they are being baked, as they dont look dry in any way, if anything they seem to be getting a type of fungus at the base of the branches that is causing dieback. They also seem to get black spot rather easily and loose all their leaves, even though I spray them just like I spray my large roses. I'm frustrated. Even the ones I do have some success with never look or bloom as well or look as good as when I first purchase them. Its like they start going downhill as soon as I get them home and its just an uphill battle from there on. :(

Juju, they need light to produce food. If they don't get enough they will use up any food stored in the canes and the canes will blacken and die.

dsd, Go back to the plastic pots and just water a little less. Roses like water but do not like to be drowning in it. Too little and too much water, unfortunately, produces the same symptoms. Yes, they always look gorgeous in the stores. They've come fresh from the grower who maintains them in greenhouse conditions. Your home can not provide those perfect greenhouse growing conditions. They will never look as full and lush in a home garden as they do in the nursery. What you never see are the ones that failed to thrive even in those conditions because they don't put those out for sale. They only sell the best because you wouldn't bring home a plant that looked tatty.

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The minis from the grocery stores are grown with maybe three or 4 cutting per pot

I bet most of the problem is root rot from too much water. I think the rose needs to be taken out of the pot and the roots looked at. Are they all circling around the bottom of the pot??? That is a problem . The roots need to be separated so they don't strangle themselves.

Because they use so many cuttings per pot, maybe thinning out would help. The plant needs good air circulation through the plant to help prevent blackspot. Picking the bottom leaves off will help with the blackspot. There is a chemical called Dithane. It will kill the blackspot spores. Several applications over a few weeks will cure it. Then use Bayer All In One

Getting a moisture Meter will help tell how wet the rose is.