GARDENING : Mini Roses Yield Maximum Beauty
Miniature roses, the Lilliputian lovelies of the rose world, are capturing the hearts of Americans because of their daintiness and versatility. Their popularity is so explosive that professional rose growers don’t even know how many varieties are now on the market.
“The demand for the mini-roses has been so great in the last 20 years that hybridizers have introduced literally thousands of varieties,” said Laurie Chaffin, a hybridizer of miniature roses and co-owner of Pixie Treasures Nursery in Yorba Linda.
Founded by her parents, Dorothy and Lyman Cralle, in l971, the nursery specializes in mini-roses and offers 25,000 miniature rose plants of 175 different varieties.
“While mini-roses are excellent for container gardening, and some cascading varieties are wonderful in hanging baskets, their versatility in landscapes is just beginning to be understood,” said Dorothy Cralle. “They’re very hardy and easy to grow, and provide almost constant color nine months of the year.”
Unlike their larger relatives, miniature roses are grown on their own roots. They are vigorous, and under ideal growing conditions repeat their bloom cycles in just 30 to 35 days (full-size roses rebloom every eight to 10 weeks).
The technical definition of mini-roses isn’t keeping pace with their rapid development. The formal definition is one whose flower and foliage is proportionately small. This encompasses the micro-miniatures, like Si!, which has a flower that’s smaller than a grain of wheat and a bush that reaches 6 inches at maturity, to Pink Pollyana, the 4-foot bush with a flower the size of a silver dollar.
The confusion mounts as hybridizers respond to the public’s desire for larger size flowers on miniature shrubs and are producing varieties that no longer fit the classification.
“In Europe, where there isn’t the same drive to categorize as we seem to have in America, they’ve solved the dilemma by referring to these new varieties as ‘patio roses,’ ” said Tom Carruth, a hybridizer at Weeks Wholesale Roses in Upland.
Mini-roses look as though a scientist zapped a hybrid tea or floribunda bush and miniaturized it. But they are a natural occurrence in the rose kingdom. They first appeared in Europe in 1815 when a variety of R. chinensis minima called R. rouletii was introduced. They became a popular fad, but some lost favor.
The diminutive roses were rediscovered by chance when a rose expert noticed some miniature roses growing in a window box in a village in Switzerland. He obtained cuttings of the plant, which the family had been nurturing for almost a century. So began the modern “mini-mania” now raging.
Serious rose enthusiasts have planted formal rose gardens and used mini-rosebushes as border plants in front of the beds. Previous conventional wisdom claimed that roses should only be grown by themselves, but opinions have changed, and the trend now is to add minis anywhere in a landscape where they’ll thrive.
“Mini-rose plants can be tucked in a landscape to provide splashes of color,” Chaffin said. “And since the size of the bushes can be up to 4 feet, they don’t have to be used just in the front of the border.”
Mini-roses are also being adapted as tree roses. Termed “patio trees,” they range in height from 1 to 3 feet, and can develop flowering canopies up to 4-feet wide.
“You can get a dramatic effect by planting a mini tree rose in a 15-gallon container such as a whiskey barrel, and then planting three or four small mini varieties around the tree. The color is breathtaking,” Chaffin said. “The same technique can be used in the garden.”
Patio trees are a new development, having appeared in nurseries just in the last few years. They add height and width to a landscape setting to create another level of color and interest.
Several particularly eye-catching patio trees are Sweet Chariot, a fragrant lilac and lavender color with an old-fashioned looking bloom and a cascading growth pattern, and Gourmet Popcorn, a white single that when in bloom looks like someone’s thrown popcorn all over the bush.
“Because minis produce more flowers than the full-size roses, they can compete with annual flowers for colorful garden display,” said Carruth.
Jack Porter is a rose enthusiast who grows more than 300 bushes in his Yorba Linda garden. He has 150 mini-rosebushes and recommends them as bedding plants for landscapes.
“I use every part of my land for flowers, and the minis are excellent for tucking into small spaces,” he said. “The strip next to my garage is only 1-foot wide and 2-feet deep and I’ve planted a patio tree surrounded by mini bushes for a great look.”
Another use for minis that is just beginning to be appreciated is that of climbing miniature rose plants.
“There are now about 25 climbing minis on the market, and this will grow as the demand increases,” Carruth said. “They can be very valuable in small gardens where full-size climbing roses just won’t fit.”
Mini climbers range in size from 4 feet to 10 feet, with an average height and width of 6 feet, and can be trained to grow on trellises, fences or columns.
Minis come in a dazzling assortment of colors. Most people may think their choices are limited to red, pink, white or yellow, but that’s no longer true. Oranges, blended colors such as red and yellow, two-toned pinks, whites and pinks, striped roses, “hand-painted” roses with colors that bleed and intensify as they age, and new color developments provide a fascinating array of choices.
Most miniature roses have only a slight fragrance, but the lavenders can be very sweetly scented.
They will thrive if their basic requirements are provided. They need at least six hours of sunlight daily, and for this reason, Chaffin recommends that they be grown outdoors.
If using containers, be sure the pot is large enough. All roses require an abundance of water, and the minis are no exception. That tiny 4-inch pot will need daily watering (even more in the summer) so instead transplant the bush into a 1-gallon container. Chaffin discourages the use of soil polymers.
“Roses hate soggy feet, and the polymers keep too much water in the root zone,” she said. “Instead, mulch the plant to keep the soil cool and that will conserve water.”
She recommends feeding the plants once a month, and adds that after the heavy flush of spring bloom and when the heat of summer is over, an extra dose of fish emulsion or a liquid fertilizer is vastly appreciated by the hard-working little bushes.
“It’s important to provide fertilizer and water consistently,” she advises.
Some special attention in September will result in a lovely display of fall blooms that can last through the December holidays.
“Prune the bushes by about a third of their growth, and give them a dose of fertilizer and they’ll reward you with terrific blooms,” Cralle added.
The blossoms can be enjoyed both in the garden and indoors by creating petite bouquets. Some fanciers dry the blossoms in silica gel and create dried flower arrangements. Others use the blooms in potpourri.
Whatever use you prefer, there are varieties for all tastes and interests. Some are more disease free and easier to grow, and Chaffin recommends the following:
* Cupcake (pink)
* Cinderella (white, micro-mini)
* Galaxy (red)
* Heartbreaker (white and pink blend)
* Hurdy Gurdy (climbing, striped)
* Jeanne Lajoie (climbing, pink blend)
* Lavender Crystal (fragrant, lavender)
* Little Artist (“hand-painted”)
* Loving Touch (apricot)
* Rainbow’s End (red and yellow blend)
* Savannah Miss (fragrant, apricot)
* Sequoia Gold (yellow)
* Starla (white)
* Sweet Chariot fragrant (lilac)
What is probably the largest selection of miniature roses in Orange County can be found at Pixie Treasures Nursery in Yorba Linda. Other sources include Laguna Hills Nursery, Laguna Hills; M&M; Nursery in Orange; Rogers Gardens, Corona del Mar, and Tokay Garden Center, Brea.
Detailed information about growing miniature as well as full-size roses is offered by the Orange County Rose Society. It meets at 7:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the Westminster Civic Center in Westminster.
