I was into minis back in 2012, 3 didn't survive my zone 5 winter. They are Love ya Dad, Sensational, and Norwich Sweetheart. Over the last decade I find that short roots like minis and floribundas don't survive well as own-roots. Frost can go down to 1 foot for every 10 degrees below zero, and I can't bury minis and floribunda's roots at 6 inch. below ground like with tall hybrid teas, grandiflora or shrubs.

Dave and Deb Boyd in zone 5, Montana had success with minis, but theirs is a much drier & stable climate. We get heavy rain in winter that killed 1/3 of my street trees & big shrubs. Wintering pots in my unheated garage is hit or miss, depending on how much the weather fluctuates in spring .. sometimes we get snow in mid-May. I'm 1 hr. and 41 min. south of Milwaukee, WI. (but 3 1/2 hrs. from Grand Rapids, MI).

I wonder if shelter might make a difference? My parade roses came back this year, but it was mild. Grace Seward and Pacesetter are just planted, and I'm going to try to overwinter LWL in the garage or something then plant in spring. I appreciate your insights!

I think my current favorite mini is Jean Kenneally. It has a tidy, fairly upright growth habit and handled last winter really well

Another favorite is Apricot Twist, although it died back to ground level in an extreme zone-3-style winter with no snow cover it has been tip hardy for me here in 4b with snow. It also has a nice fragrance which is not that common with minis. I don't have any good pictures from this year though, here's one from when we moved.

Jeanne Lajoie and Hula Hoop were cane hardy last winter and have been blooming nonstop. They are both fun little roses that add a cute touch to the gardens where they are planted.

Have you checked out Dave Bang roses? He has a lot of colorful and striped minis. I've never personally grown them but I think other members on here have some.

https://www.kandmroses.com/the-dave-bang-collection

I actually met him on Saturday! He seemed quite taken with himself :p

LOL is that so? Did that tarnish your opinion of his roses? I'd probably have a hard time separating the two if I'd met him.

My current favorite is Sweet Chariot. The color is fabulous!.

I love Kismet but not sure who carries it. I got mine from For Love of roses

I purchased Lavender Jewel from Burlington

She has a wonderful selection.

It shouldn't, but for me it always does. Will Radler of Knockout Roses is an absolute darling--he's truly down to earth and generous with his time even though he's accomplished so much. He just loves plants (and goldfish!). Meeting him the same day probably didn't help matters!

Nah I get it, I would feel the same. Humility is a wonderful trait and I would prefer to support a breeder or grower who I can respect and admire.

Another adorable little mini that I am really enjoying this year is Coffee Bean, but it's a first year plant so I don't know how it will do over the winter. Looks great in a planter with Wollerton Old Hall.

Popcorn is my absolute favorite. it never stops blooming and had been mostly tip hardy in my colorado garden.

i also love sweet chariot amd rainbows end. I grow sweet chariot in pots I buried over winter and they came back strong.

I also got a new one this year from HCR called orange honey and i just love it so far. not sure how it will overwinter but it is really bright and cheery

The only mini that survived 10 winters, and thriving this year is Blue Mist, with a heavenly wafting scent (way better than Marie Pavie). It has a long blooming period of one month per flush, I got it from Burlington.

Blue Mist has round & compact bush shape like Marie Pavie (2' x 2'). It's the most drought tolerant bush in my garden & very prickly. It's shade-tolerant, the leaves are tiny.

Hi Aaron. Presently I grow about 50 minis and have trialed and discarded evn more. My question for you is what are you looking for in a mini? It's a vague category; size of bloom, foliage, and plant is highly variable.

Sure! I'm big into pastel roses, but all the minis I've bought so far have been white and single (except Pacesetter). Fragrance is nice to have. I usually go for full to very full in regular sized roses if that helps any. I'm a big fan of beautiful flower form and that's probably my biggest draw. Grace Seward and Little White Lies both deliver that in spades; I guess I'm hoping to find some others that are similarly delightful :) I really appreciate it! How have your minis done in 5b? I'm in 5b also, though in a different part of the country :)

I love the photo of Kristine's Sweet Chariot, what a color, and Joey's sweet Jean Kenneally.

I have a funny mini I've grown for 12 or so years. It's a grocery store mini, given to my daughter by one of her kindergarten students. It's about 5 feet tall with a wonderful growth habit, and I never prune it. In spring it has a big flush of full sized blooms. When that flush is over, it reverts to much smaller mini blooms in a darker shade, and continues to bloom that way all summer. Very strange, but I get a kick out of it. I doubt if it ever was labeled with a name.

I have a question--is the full sized Ballerina rose considered to be a mini because its individual blooms are so small? Diane

kristine_legault's ideas · More Info

Memphis Music

I need to get a picture of the almost black bloom that it has right now

Not the best picture but you never know what you will get with this rose

Better picture of Memphis Music

Kristine: I love those pics. you post, very pretty like a rare orchid !! How's your daughter doing? I miss my daughter when she's that age (toddler). Now she's 18 and driving to Northern Il. University & a statistics/computer science major.

Straw, I have kids in their 50s and I can fully relate to have quickly time speeds by when it comes to our kids.

Azalea is a really unique kid. She is really smart which will come in handy when it comes to math homework. Lol

She wants to do everything for herself, so independent, strong willed and , well, a two year old.

Thanks for asking

She's very pretty, her face brings more joy to me than any roses.

Me too, well most of the time

@Kristine LeGault 8a pnw her eyes are beautiful. My youngest is 3 and oldest is 6, and while I love them to the moon and back, I 100% agree with "me too, well most of the time" lol. Sometimes I want to run away from home lol.

Ha ha, Magpie, where shall we go ?

To the plant nursery 🤣🤣🤣

Ha ha ha ! Perfect !

I grow a few mini's and miniflora's that I really enjoy.

Kiss Kordana. Your grocery store red mini. This is a good size bush in a 10 gal pot. I have two bush's of it. Benn growing it since 2011. It was a gift from a friend at church.

Chessie's Favorite. A great red mini, always in bloom. From K&M Nursery.

Tiffany Lynn. A great miniflora. It's been around a long time for a good reason. K&M Nursery.

Strawberry Kiss's. A fairly new miniflora created by Dave Bang. You can get all of Daves roses from K&M Nursery.

Bold Ruler. Another great growing miniflora from K&M.

Whirlaway. One of my very favorite minifloras. This bush is right at 17 years old. It just keeps putting out new growth every year. K&M carries it.

@Aaron Rosarian Zone 5b did you pick out more minis? I have Green Ice and Sweet Chariot coming this spring and I'm excited for them. I also have a baby plant of Paul Barden's Tajique that I'm really excited about.

If I was forced to grow only one mini, it would be the white mini, IRRESISTIBLE, hands down. The bush itself is extremely vigorous, the flower, sumptuous, and very long lasting. The bush is stoicly vertical, so it's hard to site. Unless placed in the center of a wide, circular bed, for example, or at the back of a bed, its, "bean stalk,'' growth habit, 36+" tall and 16" wide, makes it ungainly.

As most minis are, it is very susceptible to black spot. This black spot susceptibility, almost across the board, is the big downfall of minis, to me. No other class of roses, as wonderful as they are otherwise, is so disease prone in my area.

Moses

One of my very best miniatures (I've grown it for nearly twenty years now) is 'Apricot Twist'. It has the best disease resistance of almost any miniature I have ever grown (and I used to have almost every miniature bred by Ralph Moore, plus at least 50 varieties from other breeders). 'Apricot Twist' is for me, a nearly perfect rose in most ways: clean, healthy foliage, an exquisite color, shapely flowers that last well, and a compact architecture that makes a presentable plant - not just a vehicle for cut flower production.

I've grown 'Apricot Twist' outdoors for many years and not sprayed it, and yet it doesn't get any of the typical fungal diseases.

Thanks Paul, I have been looking at Apricot Twist to add to my apricot collection. Good to hear such a stellar review.

I have 2 Gigis and they have never had any disease and stay small and beautiful.

kristine_legault's ideas · More Info

@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw the only other real minis I sprang for are Eugene de Beauharnaise (if that counts) and Little White Lies. Both have adorable flowers! What about you?

Just Green Ice, Sweet Chariot and Tajique so far. I was tempted by Apricot twist.

please please let my rainbow happy trails, carruth,z4 spread her wings and go for it here in my z5 mi garden. they say our z is now a 6, but don’t believe it.