Enjoy Growing Miniature Roses

Healthy, glossy foliage and bright coral roses dress this mature miniature rose bush as it blooms happily in my garden.

In 1918, a tiny rose plant with diminutive roses was discovered growing in a home garden in Switzerland. By 1933 Jan de Vink, a Holland rose breeder, bred Tom Thumb from the original Swiss plant, and the popularity and variety of miniature roses has continually increased to the present.

"Miniature" is in reference to the size of the flower rather than the size of the plant. Jeanne LaJoie, a miniature climber, sends arching, blossom-laden canes 10 feet and more, displaying her tiny, perfectly shaped pink roses in massive clusters. Some micro-minis sport roses less than an inch across on plants no higher than a foot tall. In between, minifloras grow to be bushy shrubs up to five feet high, covering themselves with small, sometimes fragrant, roses.

The variety in color, form and size of available minis and minifloras is boggling. The interest in miniature roses only continues to increase. Modern breeders turn out new minis regularly, including fragrant varieties!

Overnight Scentsation, pictured above, was sent into space in 1998 to study its super-strong fragrance in an out-of-this-world environment.



Classic form and color are the rich attributes of this humble grocery store mini, now settled in the garden.

The miniflora rose Moonlight Scentsation came to my garden in spring of 2011. It has proved to be a sturdy plant that is eager to bloom, despite its youth. The scented blossoms are white or peachy-colored, depending on the weather or Moonlight's mood.

Such a pretty little addition to the garden. I am looking forward to Moonlight Scentsation getting taller and easier to sniff!

A baby Jeanne laJoie begins life shyly seeking cover under the skirts of the Pink Lemonade honeysuckle. In a few years, she'll be commanding attention as a full-bodied rose, like her sister below.

We can thank Ralph Moore, who has been called the "Giant" and the "King" of miniature roses, for much of the availability of these delightful plants today. In a career beginning with his first rose hybrid in 1928, Moore championed the breeding of miniature roses, using old varieties such as Tom Thumb and Cecile Brunner in his program. His drive to create exciting new roses resulted in a lifetime of productivity, and by his death in 2009, he had bred more than 500 miniature rose varieties.