My external hard drive with 10 years of pictures (only 1 full year of hosta though) quit on me, so I'm resorting to what was uploaded to Flickr albums. The picture from last year shows 5 mini hosta in a bowl which I sat on a bird bath base I think it was. You cannot see much of what is beneath, because I circled it with larger hosta. In the center is an "olla" or an unglazed terracotta container which allows water to seep out and keep the hosta cooled. This year, I am still working on the smaller hosta, because they suffered badly from the winter and squirrels tumping out the soil. I decided community containers will be better for my minis. But also, I have two planting methods to hang on the fence, where they might be much safer and easier for me to access them, and NOT OVERLOOK when I am watering. Where pots of large hosta might bring down or sag a chain link fence, I could move these small guys to the chain link spaces, where I believe air circulation will be better than against a wooden privacy fence. Plus, I do not want to put wet soil where termites and rot could destroy my fence. I also brought home short lengths of cut wood, the diameter of about 12 up to 20 inches, level them, and use them to set my coffee on.....I mean, if Pottery Barn can sell them for $100 bucks for home decorating purposes, why not DIY for my garden! They work very nicely too. And even if you do not have your larger hosta in containers, setting the cut tree lengths in a bare spot between big hosta, will let you view the minis as part of the garden itself. I'm sure small hosta have a chihuahua complex anyway, and think they're just as gorgeous as their larger relatives. If I'm not mistaken, in this photo taken today you can see a couple of the tree lengths. That convention of hosta is where my main fragrant players gather.

diane nj, Thanks for the response! So sorry I haven't been on for a while, I've had the flu. I called J Perkins and spoke with someone there, again, about this problem. They are not aware of any problem with the mini Feisty rose. They suggested I have my soil tested. I am sending out soil samples this week and will anxiously await the results. They have offered to replace the roses if the soil testing and amending (if needed) does not work. I told them I would be happy to send them one or more for them to see the roses in person but they said it was not necessary at this time. In answer to your questions, I think the soil quality is good, at least by appearances. The soil in the bed is newer, from bags, and doesn't seem to hold too little or much water. The other plants in the bed seem to be doing well. I am quite sure I don't have spider mites, there are no pepper spots (I've seen them before) anywhere near these roses. I used two different kinds of fungicide sprays, one in a seafoam green bottle from Home Depot (can't think of the name) and the other was a Bayer brand. I don't have the bottles anymore because I used it all up last summer. I am familiar with the fertilizer, I'll give it a try, as long as my soil test results allow it. I've tried other products from this company with great results so maybe this is what I need! J Perkins says the roses should be about 2 - 3 foot tall by now and full looking so there's definately something wrong. I'm trying to be patient but after so many years it's getting tough! :) Nope, no rabbits! Our worst pests here are Japanese Beetles but they don't seem to bother with these roses. They sure love the fragrant antique roses though! If you have any tips on that I'd REALLY love to hear them, it's our biggest problem! They eat up the buds before they ever get a chance to bloom, and besides they're just plain disgusting! G.O.

No, they're not a lost cause at all. Can you plant them outside in the ground somewhere? As the weather changes they will go dormant for the winter and should come back even better next spring. Plant them deep, the crown should be about 2 inches below ground, and pile them with leaves or mulch once they become dormant. Minis are usually own root and are pretty tough little cookies. Even if they die back completely to the ground over winter they should come back from the roots in the spring. There are a lot of roses that will survive zone 5 winters with no problems and minis are some of the toughest!

Thanks.