~Child's Play~

~Whoopi~ 

~Portland Dawn~

~Swan Song~

~Cupcake~

~American Rose
Centennial~

~Innocence~

~Incognito~

~Old Glory~

~Nickelodean~

~Vista~

~Baby Kadie~

~Wistful~

~Teddy Bear~

   Some of the miniature roses available today are very fragrant and although rather small in size, they are rather large in fragrance. Scentsational is one of those. A few can fill an entire room with their heady aroma. The miniature climbers are very prolific and can cover a trellis in a short time. I had one in a large square container with a small trellis stuck into the pot and by mid summer, I needed a larger trellis and there were large clusters of blooms so heavy we had to support them. Several of the roses pictured above I already have in my garden and the rest are some of the ones I plan to acquire.

   Miniatures lend themselves very well to container gardening which is my favorite type of gardening. They grow to a good sized plant when put in larger containers and can be under planted with mosses, lobelia, or alyssum. They can be planted in combination with other container plants and are great looking in window boxes. There are trailing type miniatures that can cascade down the side of the box or container. I plan to make a raised bed for some of mine with a bench seat around the sides. All in all, miniature roses are a very versatile way to have roses in your garden. Being in the Northwest, it is often too moist here for roses but I have found that my minis are less susceptible to disease and powdery mildew than their big brothers are. I have had to treat mine for aphids but they recover well and they have never had black spot. They are fed and treated for problems just like the full sized guys.

   Most of the miniature roses dry very well in silica gel. They usually dry a little darker than their normal color but should be picked fresh when not wet and processed immediately. The blossoms should either be buds or partially open as they fall apart easily if too mature. The tightness of the bud helps hold the blossom together once dry. Drying time depends on how wet the blossom was when putting it in, how moist your silica gel already was and the climate. I live in the Pacific Northwest and drying time here can be longer due to humidity. Once dry, remove and place them in plastic boxes on paper towel and cover tightly. Try to keep out of bright light while storing. You may use these in the same way you would large flowers but only on a smaller scale. I made an arrangement of them on a small crocheted oval box with ribbon and dried baby's breath. It was very spectacular.

   UPDATE 2006 ~~ I have decided that next spring for bare root rose season I am going to plant several miniature roses in fragrant whites and reds under my front window. The window is quite large not giving a lot of clearance and gets a lot of hot afternoon sun. I planted a red climber there a couple of years ago and it is doing very well so I will add the minis. It is a small strip and hard to find something that can take the heat so I think the roses might do alright. I want to plant blue alyssum under them so I can continue with my red, white and blue theme by the front door. I am also going to use the most fragrant ones I can find. It should be a pleasant and beautiful welcome to our guests. We shall have to stay tuned to see how it comes out.