How to Care for Baby Roses

Every rose has its thorn, even the smallest of roses. However, you may be willing to overlook a few tiny pricklies in exchange for tiny, quarter-sized blooms produced by plants that grow to a maximum of around 18 inches tall (with a couple mutant varieties growing a couple of feet tall). Baby roses, also known as miniature rose bushes, have been blooming for over five thousand years and were once considered legal tender in the 17th century. These smaller blooms are more fragile than their bigger counterpart's blossoms and require special care to ensure that they keep growing.

Rose fertilizer

Replant baby rose seedlings (ones that come in a ceramic or plastic container) in direct sunlight. The Rose Meadow nursery recommends combining equal parts high-quality potting soil, compost or peatmoss, and perlite to create an ideal rose bush growing medium.

Fertilize the baby roses with specialty rose fertilizer, not general plant fertilizer, diluted by half every one to three weeks.

Keep the miniature roses moist but do not overwater them, as roses flower best in moist but not soggy soil. Ideally, give your roses 1 to 2 inches of water weekly, although more may be needed if the growing conditions are especially warm or dry. Be aware that the flower buds will fail to open if the soil is too dry.

Prune dead rose blooms from the plant by cutting them off above where they attach to the leaf. Leave as much of the leaf and stem intact as possible.

Watch the rose bushes for miniature-rose-specific problems such as black spot, powdery mildew and insect infestations. Signs of black spot include black patches spreading over the roses' leaves; powdery mildew reveals itself as a white spore-like or powdery substance on not just leaves but sometimes the flowers themselves.

Spray the plant with an insecticidal soap to kill spider mites or a fungicidal mixture to combat black spot and powdery mildew.