shawna_hawkins
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Indoor Miniature Rosebush is Dying...Please Help

I am new to this website and I am desperate. We don't have much money so my husband got me a miniature rosebush for a wedding gift. It was a great gift and I adore my rosebush. It's dying though. I took it out of the pot it came in and planted it in a slightly bigger pot in May 2006. I used Miracle Gro Moisture potting mix. At first the plant started to die, then I used Miracle Gro plant food mixed with water once a week and it started to grow well. However over the last few months, the leaves started turning brown and falling off. My mom said I was watering it too much and I should wait until the top of the dirt was dry before I watered it again. I waited and waited. A week or so later the top of the soil got a little dry so I watered it a little bit. I continued this cycle for the last few weeks and I now have absolutely no leaves or blooms. My poor rosebush is now a base root with a couple sticks poking out. The longest stem is 12" or so. Is there anything I can do? Help me please!!!! :(

Newt
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Hi Shawna,

Welcome to The Helpful Gardener. It sounds like congratulations are in order for your wedding as well.

I think I know what happened to your rose, I just don't know how far gone it is, but let's give it a try. I would also like to say that miniature roses really want to be grown outdoors. You can keep it in a pot and move it outdoors for the summer. Just don't put it directly in the sun right away. Give it time to get used to the stronger sun. Plants can get sunburn just like we do. Also keep in mind that miniature roses will go dormant in the winter, so part of what is going on could be that.
I took it out of the pot it came in and planted it in a slightly bigger pot in May 2006.
Generally that should be 2" larger then the pot it was in. If the new pot is too big the soil will stay wet too long.
I used Miracle Gro Moisture potting mix. At first the plant started to die, then I used Miracle Gro plant food mixed with water once a week and it started to grow well.
Miracle Gro potting soil comes with synthetic fertilizer in it and most people do not realize this. They then fertilize with more Miracle Gro and the plants roots generally suffer from fertilizer burn from the residual salts in the synthetic fertilizer by loosing leaves, dropping flowers and buds and sometimes dying. You are very fortunate that it survived, but being a rose it tends to be a heavy feeder.
However over the last few months, the leaves started turning brown and falling off. My mom said I was watering it too much and I should wait until the top of the dirt was dry before I watered it again.
Over watering will do that and can cause the roots to rot and get mushy.
I waited and waited. A week or so later the top of the soil got a little dry so I watered it a little bit.
Potted plants should be watered until the water runs out of the drainage holes. They shouldn't sit in water for more then a few minutes.

It sounds like you overwatered and weakened the plant. Then you didn't water enough and possibly have too much residual salts in the soil from the fertilizer.

Here's what I would do. First I'd snip the remaining stems until I get to live stem. That may mean you will have very short stems now. Then I would GENTLY ease the plant out of the pot to see if the roots are healthy. They shouldn't be brown and mushy, but cream or white. If the roots look mushy, put it back in the pot, put the pot in the sink and GENTLY flush the soil with tepid water for a couple of minutes to rinse out the salts as much as you can. Let the plant drain off the extra water. Now wait one day for the roots to be completely hydrated.

While you are waiting, get a bag of potting soil that doesn't have any fertilizer in it. An organic potting soil would be wonderful if you can find it. Also get some liquid organic fish emulsion fertilizer. It smells bad when you open it, but the smell will dissipate once you mix it with water and use it. Being organic it won't burn the roots of your plants. You should be able to find it in any big box store or Mart store where you will find the potting soil.

Now take it out of the pot again. The soil will be moist and easy to remove from around the roots so you can cleanly cut away any damaged or mushy roots. If all you have is the Miracle Gro potting soil with fertilizer in it, reuse the old soil. If you have had to cut away alot of the roots don't fret as you have reduced the top growth and the roots have less top growth to support. You will now probably have to repot it in the smaller pot. You don't want it to be in a pot with too much soil. Wait one to two weeks before you fertilize.

If this weren't a wedding present I would probably have told you to throw it away and get another, but hopefully it will recover. You can use the organic fertilizer once a month in the winter. Once spring comes you can use it every two weeks.

Here's some info on miniature roses. Most of it pertains to growing them in the garden, but you should find this helpful. Be sure to read #24.
https://www.johnsminiatureroses.com/info.html

You should also find these sites helpful.
https://www.ourgardengang.com/containerpotting.htm
https://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=70

Good luck!
Newt

shawna_hawkins
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Newt,

I am going to Walmart today to see what I can get. Thank you so much. I'll let you know how it works. I really appreciate the advice.

Thank you,
Shawna

Newt
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Shawna, you are so very welcome! I hope you find everything you need.

Newt

gotmopar
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Hi, My name is Tami - I live in western Washington and have to rely on container plants during the winter months. My roses are my pride so everyone always give me the miniture ones. Mine were doing the same thing so this is very helpful. Newt, I appreciate what you told me and Shawna

Newt
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Hi Gotmopar,

I'm glad you found that helpful. :)

Newt

brat44
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:cry: I have a problem with my mini rose bushes. I had them since mothersday last year and when I brought them in for winter one of them is dyying. And it has web like things around the branches. My other one is fine. And I can't fined anything on disseses or bugs that causes this. Can anybody help me I don't want to loose the rose that my mother gave me for my first mothers day.

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rainbowgardener
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Web like things sounds like maybe spider mites. You can make a solution of water with a little bit of real soap (not detergent, something like Dr. Bronner's) and a little bit of salad oil and spray it on the leaves. Leave it on for a little while then spray with plain water and wipe down. You should be able to wipe all the mites and webs off at that point.

But I don't know if the mites/ webs are what is making your rose bush die. Posting a few pictures of it would help people help you. Instructions for posting pictures here are in New to Helpful Gardener? under Helpful Tips and Suggestions for New Members.

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rainbowgardener
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PS... Welcome to the Forum!! :)

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applestar
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Where are you keeping your plant?

I think rainbowgardener is correct and it is very likely spidermites.

Putting the pot inside a plastic bag to protect the soil from washing out and giving your plant a shower once a week in kitchen sink or regular shower once a week will help. I like to thoroughly spray my indoor winter plants every morning with filtered water. This really helps in my forced air vent heated low humidity house, and my plants suffer when I don't keep it up.

I think mini roses kept indoors in winter prefer lower temps, 55~65°F at the most if you can.

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rainbowgardener
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Yes, I don't know where you are, but I don't bring my mini-rose bush in for the winter. It is in a container and sits out side all winter. It likes to have a dormant period.

Loran
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My mini Rose's leaves are falling off the stems. What's this mean??? It sits on a table my doubled glass doors so it gets light and I water it so the soil stays damp. What's happened to my Rose's????

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rainbowgardener
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Honestly, roses are not indoor plants. There's no amount of light coming through the glass that will be the same as full sun outside.

A picture would help as well as telling us where you are. How long have you had this rose bush and when did the problem start?

Loran
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Sorry my name is Loran it's my first time on this site. I have had my potted rose bush since mother's day. The leaves just started turning yellow and if I brushed the plant the leaves would fall off. I took a picture but I'm not sure of to load it to the site. It's got I'd say 5 stems with no leaves and about 10 stems with. It also has one remaining bud on it that's not bloomed yet so I think it's still alive unless I can't fix or find out what's wrong with it. So if you could help please do. I have a back porch but it gets nothing but sun. I live in South Carolina and it gets extremely hot fast.

Loran
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Loran again I wanted to add that the rest of my Bush is green if that's anything important to know
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rainbowgardener
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Yellowing leaves on roses is a stress symptom. Unfortunately, many different things could be causing this stress:

Spider mites are common on indoor plants. They are very tiny. Unless you have a bad infestation (at which point you will begin noticing tiny bits of webbing), they are difficult to see with the unaided eye. But hold a piece of white paper under some branches and shake the branches. Spider mites will appear as teeny tiny reddish specks on the paper. They thrive on the dry conditions of air conditioned indoor air.

Over-watering can do it. I wouldn't keep the soil damp all the time. I would water it thoroughly and then not again until the top layer of the soil is drying out. But in the meantime, mist the leaves daily as long as the plant stays indoors. A humidity tray helps too - the plant doesn't like dry indoor air, even without spider mites.

Nutrient deficiencies can be the stress, but so also can fertilizer burn. How have you been feeding it?

You said your porch gets "nothing but sun." If it is truly a porch, not a patio, that sounds unlikely. Porches are attached to houses. Therefore, the porch is necessarily shaded by the house at some parts of the day. What direction does your porch face? If it faces west and gets the hot afternoon sun, that is not a good summer location for your rose bush. Any other direction would probably be fine. I would wait for a cooler, overcast day and get your rose out on the porch.

Keep us posted on how it is doing and what you find!

Loran
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OK I added a picture of my mini Rose's the picture is sideways but I hope you get the idea it's kinda dark but I hope you can see the stems without losing leaves. You said that mini Rose's are not made for inside life does that mean my Rose's are destined to die?? They were doing well. I read that Rose's need 6hour of sunlight so I'd bring them out early in the morning and then bring them back in. Please help save my Rose's.

Loran
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:cry:
Last edited by Loran on Tue Jun 14, 2016 11:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

Loran
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I will try the spider mite trick and will start to wait to water my plants until it's dry. My house gets nothing but sun the sun shine's behind my house and I have no trees but around my porch I do get shade one side. I hope to start flower beds and transplant my inside flower's outside. I did read your post about the sun being to strong for my indoor plants. I also looked up my zone and I'm supposed to be zone 8. Thanks for your idea's I look forward to saving my plants my husband thinks I kill them on purpose but I have two daughters and I hope to learn enough to teach them not to kill plants. Lol I've been pretty stuck on your site I'm glad I ran across this article and many more. Thanks for the support I also wanted to tell you that the yellow leaves that are falling off Ave these white tiny dots on the back of the leaves. Are these spider mites??? I also wanted to add that I thought I was doing a good thing about raising my Rose's inside to help give them a good fighting chance. Seems if I just plant them they die. Like I said I have a brown thumb but I really want a green one. I added a picture of it you can't really see it but it's right there on the vain.
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Loran
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I also wanted to ask if these little white spot's kinda look like eggs and I do have a one year who likes to eat everything are these spider mites a hazard to my children? I hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question but I never heard of this until I joined your sit. I don't know if that's what they are but I hope the details of these very tiny white egg looking things could help figure it out.a and to your question about feeding it that's a no. It's still in the soil that I bought it in and I just figured it was fertilized so I didn't think about feeding it. Is fertilizer the same thing as food for the plant??? I thought fertilizer was. Like it came with everything like taking a vitamins.

Loran
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My Rose's have spider mites but I'm a little confused because there not red there tiny white bugs that don't look like spiders. I'm going to try the oil solution and see if that does the trick. I do have other plants by my Rose's will the spider mites attack them to

tomc
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Rose simply does better when grown to field. It does less well when grown in pots. And even less well grown indoors.

I wish it was not so. Cause by hook or by crook I intend to collect all of Hugo Dots mini-rose, or back breeding them.

Kelligirl921
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I am also new and live in Colorado. My soil is wet but not drenched yet my rose bush is drying out. Leaves are getting crunchy and so are some buds. Yes it's indoors right now because I got it for Valentine's Day. Please help!!!

shelbyyyyy
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I am also new in Colorado, and I've tried some home remedies to save my mini roses from gnats (I found one green flying monster) but I don't know what else to do! I also got them on Valentine's Day and tried to put a humidifier in the room as some of the leaves are better but I'm not sure if I have too much going on!
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imafan26
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Roses would do better outdoors whenever the weather is good. Roses in the ground are hardy to zone 3 or 4.
If you do keep roses in pots, remember they require high light to bloom well and they are heavy feeders and need regular pruning since the only bloom on new canes and fertilizer after each bloom cycle. If you let your roses go dormant in winter, you would reduce watering and not feed them.

If you keep roses in pots long term indoors or out, you still need to remember that potted plants are totally dependent on you for all their water and nutrients. You will have to feed the roses, change the soil, and uppot as the plant grows. Most potted plants need to be repotted into a larger pot or the root ball reduced and repotted to keep it in the same pot with new potting mix every 1-2 years. Over time bacteria and fungal spores build up in the soil, especially if you have dead roots and have over watered, the soil becomes more acidic and the root mass grows and gets crowded because the pot does not allow the roots to spread and seek out new ground and nutrients. New soil give the plants a nice soft clean media for the roots to spread out in and it reduces the number of bacteria and fungi in the pots. The pots themselves if you are using older pots should be cleaned and bleached before reusing. Plants like roses, which are very susceptible to fungal and bacterial diseases anyway deserve a new pot every couple of years.

Some people like to use the organic mix in pots. I prefer perlite and peat moss or cinders. I just have better luck with them. I find that the compost in the organic mixes hold too much water and it costs much more than a custom mix I make. I do use MG potting soil, it is a good product. Moisture control is only good if you know how to water; have total control over watering, or live where it never rains.

All plants need nutrients but organic fertilizer requires soil organisms to break it down into a form that the plants can use. You would have to use fish emulsion, kelp meal and compost tea every week since the soil cannot feed the plant in a small pots, you will need to feed the plant.

Roses are heavy feeders, they need regular feeding. I would use a rose food or MG for acid loving plants. Salts build up in the pots if you use a liquid fertilizer weekly like MG for acid loving plants then water weakly weekly with 1/4 strength solution.

Fertilize once each week with 1/4 strength fertilizer early in the morning and hit the under sides of the leaves while the stomata are open and the plant will have the day to dry off in good air circulation. The fourth week only flush the pot with water until it comes out the drain holes in the sink to leach salts from the pots.

Never leave a plant in a saucer full of water. I only 1 saucer with pebbles half filled with water as a summer watering hole for bees and beneficial insects. The first thing I do with any built in saucer is rip it off. The saucered pots are getting harder to find. I don't use self watering pots because they are very good at killing my plants.

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applestar
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Oooh.... this doesn't look good.... please elaborate about what remedies you have tried. Were the leaves already wilting before you tried the remedies?

It's unfortunate, but at this point, the first thing to do is cut off all of the flower buds. Cut at an angle about 1/3 of the way down the stem above a leaf node with hopefully still healthy leaf bud (a little knubbin).

You could try submerging the cut stems with flower buds completely in tepid (not cold, not warm) water with a sheet of paper towel on the surface to push them completely under for 15 to 20 minutes, then arranging them in a little vase filled with cut flower food solution (if you have any) or a bit of peroxide and ground up aspirin and a pinch of sugar --- there's a recipe for this but I don't remember exactly. If they are not too far gone, they might still open enough for you to enjoy them a little bit. If they are too far gone, this will get them too wet and they will spoil quickly. If you'd rather not take the chance and you want to save them for any reason, DON'T put them in water >>> I would try to dry just the buds -- behead them and bury them in flower desiccant silica sand (craft store).

Examine the plant where you made the cuts -- hopefully you used a sharp pair of pruners and not crushed the stems. Do they look dry or do they look green with white core? Remove all of the dried up leaves -- they will just get moldy.

I need to hear what you did to the plant to know what more to do, but assuming it can be saved, one of the things I would do is put it in a cooler spot -- 40's to 50's °F and water less but not allow to completely dry out. Need more info for other stuff to do.



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