Miniature roses - a little treasure
Content
History of appearance
Like many amazing things, mini roses came to Europe from the East. Back in 1810, small evergreen roses were brought from China, newspapers wrote about them. The first quarter of the 19th century was marked by the fashion for them, which gradually faded away. Only after almost a hundred years, interest was renewed thanks to the find of Dr. Roulette. He discovered a flowering bush and started cultivating unprecedentedly small roses. Before the war, European flower growers knew no more than 20 varieties, but since 1940, Dutch and Spanish breeders began to cross them with undersized representatives of different types of roses.
Since then, miniature roses not only have not lost their popularity, but have increased their diversity due to interspecific hybridization. Today you can find a rose for every taste among the five thousand existing varieties. Lush bushes with small bright leaves grow from 10 to 30, sometimes up to 40 cm in height, abundant flowers reach 3 cm in diameter.They are distinguished by lush and long flowering - some varieties bloom without interruption from May to October, others do it in three waves almost two months each. In addition to the classic bush roses, roses are very different in shape: ground cover, trellis, climbing, even standard. In terms of the variety of colors, they are not inferior to their large counterparts.
Americans consider miniature roses to be indoor flowers, but in our country they can be found on alpine slides, in borders, on ridges, they are often grown in various kinds of pots and vases, decorating the yard, balcony and apartment, and always invariably cause admiration and joy with their appearance.
Group Features Video
From the video you will learn about the features of these colors.
Dignity
In addition to unconditional decorativeness, miniature roses have many advantages. They are not capricious and very tenacious, even a rosette frozen in winter will certainly give new shoots, rarely become victims of diseases, endure cold snap and heat, can only make a short pause in violent flowering. They tolerate winter well in a shelter, in the southern regions they may not shed foliage at all, warmed with earth, after a period of dormancy they simply resume their growth. It is very easy to dilute them with cuttings.
Blooming on the street lasts from the end of May to October, and in the apartment, if provided with daylight, it can begin in March and end in November. Some lovers do not suit their roses with a dormant period, but increase the daylight hours so that they bloom constantly.
Own-rooted plants grown from cuttings of roses, even grafted onto rose hips, do not give root growth, which greatly facilitates their care, there is no need to be afraid that the varietal plant will turn into a rose hip. There are thorny varieties, and there are absolutely no thorns.Flowers are simple and terry in a wide variety of colors: from traditional pink, red, white, different shades, to green, purple and blue. Shoots are always densely covered with bright, most often dark green shiny leaves. Varieties of the classic bush form form beautiful dense bushes with straight shoots, which, although they are very thin, proudly hold both single flowers and small inflorescences, without bending or bending under their weight.
Small size, very beautiful shape and various colors of flowers allow using roses in landscape design with amazing benefits for the site.
Growing
For flower growers who have already cultivated roses on their site, miniature roses will not seem complex or capricious flowers. It is best to plant them on a flower bed in spring, then the root system will have time to get used to and develop in a new place during the season so that winter will not be a problem. The place needs to be selected, like all roses, sunny, but protected from drafts and the north wind, it is enough if the sun dries the night moisture on the leaves in the morning, and there may be a light shade in the afternoon.
Dwarf roses grow well on light air-permeable slightly acidified soils without stagnant water. They prefer hills to any lowlands.Before planting plants, it is advisable to fertilize the soil with compost, rotted manure, add bone meal and wood ash to it, if necessary, add lime. Before planting, you need to adjust the structure of the earth - too light requires the addition of clay and peat, and too heavy requires sand, peat and fertilizers.
The bushes are planted at a distance of 20 - 25 cm from each other. If the seedlings are purchased in a container, then they need to be placed in a hole with the same clod of earth, this will speed up survival in a new place.
When planting a bush, the root collar is deepened by 3 - 5 cm, then the earth is tamped around the bush and watered with warm, settled water. The first two weeks the rose is gradually accustomed to the sun - at first it is completely closed during the day, and opened only in the morning and in the evening, then the time of "walks" is lengthened until the covers are completely removed.
It is advisable not to water too much so that excess moisture does not collect near the roots, but you need to use settled warm water. It is recommended to loosen the land around the bush after watering so that it does not crust over.
All summer, the flower beds are weeded, the fading flowers are cut off, damaged leaves and shoots are removed, they make sure that the bush does not become too thick, otherwise it will begin to lose leaves, and may even get sick if sunlight does not get into its depth.
Constant flowering requires a lot of energy, so it is usually recommended to make four top dressings. So, in early spring, after waking up, ammonium nitrate is introduced, later, when the shoots are actively growing, they are helped with carbamide, with the appearance of buds, the plants are fed with a solution of complete mineral fertilizer, in August it is no longer possible to add nitrogen, they are limited to potassium-phosphorus compositions. All dressings are applied after watering.
Of the parasites, one should be wary of aphids, a rosy sawfly, with a lack of moisture - a spider mite. Therefore, when growing at home, pots are often placed on a pallet with damp pebbles or plants are sprayed with boiled water. Rosettes can become infected with powdery mildew or leaf spot. For prevention, plants are treated with Bordeaux liquid, ash solution or herbal infusion. The affected parts are cut out and destroyed.
If the plants in pots were taken out into the street, then with the onset of cold weather they are brought into the room. Only those plants that have been growing in the open field throughout the season can winter outdoors. Frosts down to -7 degrees will not bring trouble, but when they come, it's time to prepare roses for winter. In autumn, they should not be cut off too much, you can only remove the buds and peduncles, even the leaves, if they do not fall off themselves, can not be touched.The bush is huddled high with earth, covered with dry leaves, covered with spruce branches. Then a frame is arranged over it, covered with lutrasil or spunbond, and on top with a polyethylene film. First, a hole is left for ventilation, then the shelter is closed tightly, pressing the covering material around the perimeter with stones or boards. During thaws and in early spring, they are reopened for ventilation. They remove the shelter gradually, when it is already warm. Examine the roses and cut them in the spring before the buds awaken.
Miniature roses in pots for the winter can be brought into the basement or other room with an air temperature of +1 to +5 degrees. In the spring, they will also need to be cut and transplanted. At home, you do not need to have a long period of rest if you want to get flowers in early spring or even winter. But in order to start the growing season, the plants will need a longer daylight hours, so you will have to organize lighting with a fluorescent lamp. Plants are transferred to a warm room, pruned, transplanted, watered, and then fed.
Roses reproduce by cuttings, which can be cut from shoots 2 - 3 mm thick. Each stalk should have 3 - 4 buds, an oblique cut is made under the lower cut, and a straight cut 0.5 cm above the bud above the upper one. The lower leaves are removed, and half of the upper leaves are left. You can put the cuttings in water until roots are formed (even add a root growth stimulator), only they do not change it, but simply top up as needed. And then cuttings with tiny and still weak roots are planted in the ground.
You can soak the lower third of the cuttings for several hours with a growth stimulant, and then immediately place them in the soil for rooting. To do this, take a deep container (pot or box), first pour a drainage layer, then soil, and on top of 2 cm of clean sand.
The cuttings are placed with their edge on the border of sand and soil, pressed with fingers, watered, and a film cover is arranged above them to retain moisture. The cuttings are watered, sometimes ventilated, the formation of roots will be indicated by the appearance of new sprouts, at first red and tiny, then they will turn into real branches and acquire a normal green color. If new plants are planned to be planted outside, then they should be kept in a cellar or on a balcony with a temperature from + 1 to + 5 until spring, so that they stop growing.
The best varieties
Today there are many varieties of small roses, some are better to grow outdoors, others at home, but they can all grow in open ground and in pots, all of them are very decorative and can bring real pleasure to aesthetes by their appearance. To choose from this variety, you need to know at least a little about the most common varieties.
"Hummingbird"
This variety was created by French breeders in 1958. A rather dense, spreading bush with glossy dark leaves looks good in flower beds in group plantings and in a separate pot. 
Its double cup-shaped flowers with a pleasant aroma are collected in small inflorescences of 3 - 5 pieces, the diameter of the opened flower is 4 cm, the color is bright, apricot yellow. Long-lasting and abundant flowering.
Daniela
A fairly new, but already well-known French variety, created in the 90s of the last century, is resistant to most diseases. A compact bush grows up to 15 - 20 cm tall, double rosette flowers with pointed petals have a delicate pink-white color from the beginning of flowering, and by the end they become almost white. Blooms luxuriantly and continuously, requires shelter for the winter. Feels good in a pot.
"Debut"
Created in 1989, it has already gained wide popularity due to the non-trivial color of double flowers and the convenience of growing. The bush is tall enough for miniature roses, grows up to 35 - 38 cm tall, resistant to diseases and frost-hardy, although our conditions still require shelter for the winter, but it needs to be saved more from damp than from cold. 
The petals at the base are colored creamy white, and closer to the edges - dark red, as the flower opens, it becomes darker and darker. On a bush, many flowers open at the same time, and they all have a slightly different color. This variety looks great as a curb or hedge.
"Pixie"
A variety of Dutch selection, a low compact bush (up to 20 cm) throughout the summer, covered with numerous double cup-shaped flowers of white or white-pink color. Flowers with pointed petals are arranged one at a time or collected in small inflorescences of 2 - 3 pieces. It grows well in the apartment and on the street, it is distinguished by continuous flowering.
"Los Angeles"
A classic shrub with upright, rigid shoots, with shiny dark green ovoid leaves, although there are options with bronze or light green leaves, which in itself is very unusual and beautiful. On each shoot, up to 80 bright orange double flowers up to 5 cm in diameter are formed. It blooms very luxuriantly and for a long time.
"Clementine"
Sufficiently large bushes (up to 60 cm high) grow compactly, are resistant to powdery mildew and leaf spot. This is that amazing case when the rose is not afraid of the heat - in a temperate zone climate, the flowers do not fully open for a long time and remain in the form of semi-open noble large flowers; in hot weather, double flowers open in 4 to 5 cm in diameter. Blooming repeats all summer, the color of the lush flowers changes from pink to apricot-orange. Cut flowers last up to 9 days.
"Lavender"
The lavender color with lilac-lilac shades, a 5-centimeter in diameter flower of noble forms, cannot but attract attention. 
Each stem has one to three buds. The bush grows up to half a meter.
"Baby Baccarat"
The flower of this rose is distinguished by an amazing nobility of shape, which is emphasized by a velvet dark red, almost black color. One bud reigns on each peduncle, surrounded by dark green leaves. It looks austere and luxurious.
"Meidy"
A frost-resistant, disease-resistant variety of German selection, was created in 1984. The bush grows up to 40 cm, is grown on the street and in the house, they are decorated with flower beds, windows, balconies, verandas. Flowers, collected in small inflorescences, exude a pleasant aroma, but their main charm is color. The inside of the petals is blood red and the outside is silvery white.
"Green Ais Min"
Sprawling bushes with light green leaves are resistant to diseases and frost resistance. 
Small double cup-shaped flowers are collected in inflorescences on long (up to 24 cm) strong peduncles, their color is white with delicate greenery. It blooms for a long time and abundantly.
Spring Cropping Video
In this video, you will learn about spring pruning of miniature roses.