Miniature and Miniflora Rose Suppliers - American Rose Society

we had the first frost, they were moved
to the greenhouse.
Of the seven plants, two are mauve, one
is a pink blend and five are different
shades of yellow. As I write this the
seven remain very disease free in the
greenhouse, with three showing very vigorous
growth. New growth from every
leaf axil, and lots of new basil breaks. I
have taken cuttings of all of them, and
will plant in the ground in the spring for
further evaluation. At the present time,
some of them appear to be of the miniflora
size.
So no doubt, I will have more mini-flora
class seedlings in my own inventory to
further my hybridizing goals. Minifloras
are easy to grow and they exhibit
well so it is easy to see why so many exhibitors
grow and enjoy them. I had
mentioned above that I used to discard
the micros, but in recent years I have
had some requests from arrangement
exhibitors for more micros that have exhibition
form. There are a few growing
in the greenhouse in evaluation as I
write this – a couple that look quite
promising.
My hybridizing goals have been on the
“back burner” the past six plus years as
fighting cancer has taken up most of my
time. I tire easy, but I have made a few
crosses, have some seeds and am keeping
my hand in it, which has kept me going!
There is nothing more relaxing on a
cold winter day than spending time in
the greenhouse. As for my long term objectives
– it all depends on how my
health sustains me and how well I feel,
but to have my hand in
32
coming up with a rose or two that can be
loved by anybody, and sustain long
enough to earn a spot in the Rose Hall of
Fame (be in commerce for at least 20
years) would be all the fame I would
want.
We grow all types of roses; however, I
know that the mini-floras have a big future
and I hope that everyone will get to
love them as well as the miniatures.
Works Cited
Boerner, Eugene S. Papa Floribunda.
Milwaukee: BBG, 1989: 77.
Krussmann, Gerd. The Complete Book
of Roses. Portland: Timber Press, 1981:
164.
*****
‘Hot To Trot’
Mini-Flora 2006