They can look cute in a manicured garden, but are just not to my taste. I like 'em big, blowsy, and fragrant.

I have a few that were presents, and they are okay in the right spot.

I hope some other folks respond in the affirmative. I wouldn't consider my rose garden complete without minis.

I dot them in between the maxi's (haha) and usually pick ones that compliment their big sisters.

Examples: Daddy Frank nearby Veteran's Honor, Rainbow's End near Perfect Moment, Black Jade near Barkarole (Taboo), Incognito near Koko Loco, Scentsational near Paradise.

The mini's are sooooooo easy to care for. Unfortunately, many of them lack scent. That's about the only downfall. They seem less susceptible to our frequent thunderstorms; many of mine keep bloom form & petal count when all the Hybrid Teas and floribundas get shot to heck in wind and rain.

I've got about as many minis as full size ones, I find I prefer softer colors in my big roses but like to use the minis for shots of the hotter colors here and there

I built a small hedge with my Mini's. In front of my house along the skirting (mobile home). I love mine but I tend to buy ones with true Hybrid tea form. And there are some with fragrance, you just have to look.

Why not? Minis ARE "real roses" as sure as any OGR, HT or anything else. It's unfortunate they've become thought of as disposable like any potted hydrangea, azalea or anything else used as grocery store fodder, but they ARE often great garden plants. Many do lack scent, but who here is willing to lay on their stomach in the dirt to smell them? A good friend used to grow Ralph Moore's Chick-a-Dee in a pot so he could walk around his garden with it under his nose. When asked if something had scent, his pat response was "heavenly!" .

"Mini" officially means the size of the flower, not the plant, so you can have the four foot ones all the way down to the six inch ones. They aren't really good potted plants unless the pots are insulated against cooking the roots, with decent drainage and appropriate water, but due to the size, they can be splendid in the right pot, taken care of the right way. They can also be splendid in the garden, filling places normally reserved for annuals. Why not plant them in those strips too narrow for much of anything else? Why not use them in front of other taller roses as a border plant? My only issue with doing that was in my old garden where I had to build raised planters for them due to the %*(&)## rabbits!

Nearly all of them are own root and there are stories around of people literally mowing them with the lawn mower as you can a mum, and them exploding back into great growth and flower. My youngest sister, who can usually only grow great children and Olympic quality weeds, planted store minis in her difficult front yard nearly twenty years ago. Not even her mow/blow/go could kill them. I believe all of the original plants are still there, flowering furiously in their situation of benign neglect. They get bugs and diseases which she lets Nature handle and they keep flowering. They eventually dead head themselves and she's happy. If they set seed, she's grateful for the color and texture and the fact all she has to do is pay the water and "gardener" bills. These weren't anything special, just the usual grocery store potted disposable plants.

Consider something tiny and ever flowering like Popcorn or Cinderella, planted like a box wood or even a dwarf myrtle and kept tightly clipped. If mites become an issue, break out your water wand. The small flowers add texture, and, believe it or not, scent and color and usually fall off by themselves. Put taller, more colorful ones in holes where you want permanent color so you don't have to replant and battle the prickles of its neighbors. Many are sterile so they won't need much dead heading. Forget it if you're anal about making SURE there aren't spent flowers in the garden. That will drive you CRAZY!

But, yes, "real rose growers grow minis!" It's all personal taste, just as the types and colors of "real roses" we grow are. If you like them, grow them and don't take any guff over it from anyone else. Kim

I have an unnamed mini which was already here (a tiny plant and practically the only flower in sight when we moved in) which has now grown quite large with lavender, almost single flowers and beautiful, matte, almost old-rose foliage. I like it very much and it blends beautifully with the old and Austin roses with its soft color and billowy habit. There are other minis that look very modern or have strident colors, and I don't care for them, but among all the thousands available one can find something for every taste. When Sequoia closed down I bought Mr. Bluebird, St. Mary and Antique Rose, and these Ralph Moore minis are still with me. You can't judge one group by a few specimens, especially a group as large as the minis.

Ingrid

I too thought that mini roses were for temporary indoor enjoyment and then throw away...until I discovered the GW forum. Who would have thought I would be growing a tiny, tiny rose called "Si". Si is the daintiest rose I have. You just got to love the minis.

Kasie

Have been growing mini's since the mid 1980's. Wouldn't have a rose garden without them. They are just as popular as my "big" roses. I always thought mini roses were "real roses". Just like small people are still people.

Yes, this one does. Having mentors who were hybridizers of (primarily) minis helped!

Oh yeah; another caveat---I can usually squeeze in 4 minis where I'd only be able to put 2 or 3 flori's/HTs. So....more roses!!!!

And I can't say enough about having own root roses here in Illinois. Renegade, bless its heart, was dead to below the mulch this spring. It's about 2 feet tall and coming along splendidly.

Nothing's neater (to me) than having the rose bushes sprawl & grow into each other, with little minis peeking through and around larger blooms of a neighboring bush. They're great for hiding the bare legs of their bigger cousins, as well.

I've been growing minis for at least 30 years. I have more of them than large roses, and I exhibit them happily in our rose shows. They are easy to grow, they provide plenty of color, and I love them.

Interesting combos Flaurabunda. I have Daddy Frank next to Vet's Honor also. Will take a look at the Perfect Moment combo.... I can't imagine how bored I'd get in a one size fits all garden....What Ken said makes sense to me (she said as she pulls herself up to her entire 5 foot height)....Maryl

I grow several minis and minfloras. Black Jade, King Tut, Jean LaJoie, Cal Poly, and Roller Coaster to name a few King Tut They fit in many places a full size bush wouldn't.

Yes to minis. They fill in the blanks and make nice edging to paths. Years ago when I left CA, a friend gave me a grocery store mini as a going-away gift. It was the first rose I planted in Santa Fe, in the sandy soil completely devoid of nutrients. It was still alive when I moved to VA 18 years later.

Minis are a lovely addition to a rose garden - you can tuck them in the front of a bed, grow them in pots, etc. My favorites are Kristin (white and red), Jean Kennealy ( pink) and the mini pink climber Jeanne La Joie.

I grow lots minis around a bird bath--the HTs around it got much too big so I moved the bird bath to a new bed surrounded by short roses.

I really, really enjoy MICRO-Minis.

Things like Kasie's 'Si,' or 'Cinderella,' or 'Hi,' which is a single sport of 'Si.'
I have 'Willie Winkie,' which is just a delight, and a really lovely newer Micro-Mini -- 'Petite Perle d'OR,' from Robert Rippetoe in Palm Springs.
I've lost 'Tom Thumb,' but I want to get him again. Micro-Minis are fun. They do better in pots for me, which keeps them out of the path of rampaging Dalmatian Dogs.
And come to think of it, I need to go water 'em.

Jeri

I love minis and my hubby loves quiche. I think we are both real. :)

Hi Jeri - I also have Cinderella and didn't realize it's a micro mini. So I am thrilled. I also have Blue Mist, Centennial Miss and Beauty Secret that to my eyes have the same leaves structure as Cinderella. So I was wondering it these three are micro minis too.

Kasie

Kassie, it's the flower size that classifies it as a mini or a micro mini. Personally, I don't consider Cinderella a micro mini. The flowers are too large. Blue Mist is considered one, though my plant in the old Newhall garden was 3' x 3', HARDLY a "micro" in comparison to Trinket, Si, Hi, Tiny Flame, etc. Beauty Secret is "just" a mini, as is Centennial Miss. The flowers are too large. Kim

Thank you for the info Kim. Will have to check out Burlington Nursery list and see what is available as micro minis. Again, I just adore these tiny roses.

Kasie

You're welcome Kassie. Burling may have a few of them. It was such an amazing sight in the Sequoia green houses...twelve and more flats full of various varieties of wee roses in flower. Like Gulliver in Lilliput! LOL! Kim

I've never thought of minis as 'fake' roses but met lots of 'real' rose growers that shun singles, species, OGR's, English, etc. There are 'real' rose growers that only grow exhibition roses, or OGR's, or red, etc. Some 'real' rose growers only grow Jackson & Perkins roses. Fortunately, there are enough types, styles, colors and classes to make us all 'real' rose growers.

Have some fun with this one! Classed as a China, yet small enough to be considered a micro mini, it fills the bill on both accounts. It has beautiful buds and sepals and has proved very healthy here in my garden. Always in flower, too. Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: Cineraire at Sequoia Nursery in 2006

While I am fully enjoying reading the responses to this thread, I have to qualify my poor choice of words in the title of "Real" rose growers. I meant to imply no snobbishness of any kind. To me a real rose grower is anyone who reads or participates in this forum. A real rose grower is someone who not only grows one or more roses, but also cares enough about them to try to figure out what makes them tick.

Just needed to get that out.

Do get some more, harmony, and stick them in those spots that need some color. I love the little ones. I find that the more decorative minis have a much quicker repeat than the exhibition ones so it seems like they're always in bloom. If you want something to brighten a spot and bloom all summer go for a mini!

Honestly somehow miniature roses didn't "exist" for me until last year. First I went to a rose show and had to acknowledge the extraordinary beauty of some of them. Then I was desperately looking for a small rose that would happily grow in a pot. I thought, too, that some miniatures might be just right to hide the bare legs of my hybrid teas. Right now my dream is to combine some lavender miniatures together with 'Sweetness' (grandiflora) that also has a lavender color. Long story short I finally ordered my first few minis from Heirloom Roses, which have quite a good selection, this winter and I am ready to experiment with them.

Christina

Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Garden Dreams