What good, healthy seed parent is available that would be adorable dwarfed? Kim
Tell you what Kim I would sticking that on something before anything happens to it, its anthers are almost as big as the petals.
Okay, so this is from a cross of a repeat blooming Hulthemia by another repeat blooming Hulthemia, so the likelihood of a blotch is high. So well, I got out my trusty magnifying glass and at the base of the petals, there was the hint of a blotch (I am 99% sure that there is one there). The petals measure 7 mm x 3 mm. I’m not sure that I am going to use it in breeding yet since I have other micromini type Hulthemias with better blotches (though not as tiny as this one). It’s interesting that the seed parent is a fairly vigorous growing mini while the pollen parent is an even more vigorous growing shrub type. I’m not sure where the very small plant genes are coming from…?
Jim Sproul
Jim,
Can you give an update on your micro? How is it doing and have you used it in any cross this season?
Rob
Oh, Jim that is so cute!
Thanks Judith!
Hi Rob, it is still a survivor, although I haven’t been able to try it in breeding yet. Often the really small seedlings get overshadowed by neighboring seedlings and die, but this one is hanging on. I am hoping that it will bloom again in our cooler weather since blotches are so much better when the evenings cool down. If I get another good bloom, and it has a blotch, I will post a photo on my blog.
Jim Sproul
Hi Jim!!
I was at Lyndale Park in Minneapolis recently and enjoyed looking at the AARS trials. There are a couple pink Hulthemia hybrids in the trials. Is one of them your Pink Lemonade? There is a larger flowered one (maybe 2.5 to 3") that is very mildew and black spot resistant. The other one with smaller (about 2") blooms has mildew on it. It sounds like with your climate you select strongly for mildew resistance. I hope this really great looking one is yours!!
Jim,
I look forward too seeing some more pictures if you post them. I have a couple of micro minis myself and am not sure what to do with them. I think I’ll wait to see what next season brings.
Rob
Oh, it’s adorable! I love micros. They’re just so cute!
Micros can also be some of the most amazingly vigorous and tenacious of roses, too. The first time I tried rooting Hi and Si in the old mist propagator during the heat of summer, less than half an inch cuttings formed inch and a half long roots in ten days. They amazed me with how incredibly vigorous their root systems were I eventually had to build a raised planter to keep them in my old garden because the rabbits kept them mowed to the ground, yet they continued exploding back every chance they got. If given half a chance, they will grow and flower like mad. Kim
Kim,
Based on your experience, do you think there is any desire on the part of gardeners for micros for the landscape, container gardening or for a ‘collection’? I don’t have any idea what the needs/desires are for the average gardener but I like the idea of using micros in containers and rock gardens. I just don’t see much work being done to develop them though.
I have a ‘Quadra’ x ‘Cherry Sunblaze’ micro that has a nice pink bloom, with 8 petals on its first bloom, that is extrememly disease resistant. Based on Quadra as a parent I’m guessing that it should be hardy to zone 4. I’m not sure what to do with this one yet.
Rob
I think they’ll always be a specialty item, Rob. They’re too difficult to produce in large quantities and the demand will always be low. Unless they’re monitored, they seem too susceptible to spider mites, and like most plants, will only sell when they are “on”. Though vigorous, they take their time building into a plant which could be considered an appropriate gallon size and, at least in these parts, unless they attract your attention, would never sell in less than a five gallon for any decent price. The big box stores here sell minis in gallons from Green Heart, and any other roses mostly in twos and threes unless they get spectacular fives from someone.
Most consider them novelties and buy them as oddities. Many pick them up because they’re “so cute!”, in inch square pots for a few dollars to take them home and either kill them on a window sill or pot ledge. I’ve seen ones like Cinderella used instead of boxwood at The Huntington around a circular bed of fairy tale character named roses. When I worked at the beach, I sometimes brought them home from Sequoia to use on planted bird houses we made.
Unless you have a really good nursery who raises them in house, with someone who will maintain them and SELL them, I doubt they will ever really find a market. They’re just not something a Monrovia will ever consider as they take more attention to produce something they’ll never sell in bulk. I love them, so please don’t get me wrong. I’ve bought, used, resold and given away MANY of them over the years. One of my clients at the beach would sometimes put in an order for some for me to bring back from Sequoia to use with his bonsai. They were quite interesting and cute for that use, but none of them really give enough bang for the buck in landscape uses, unless the one maintaining it uses them appropriately and pays them the attention they require to perform. Kim
Kim,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on micros. I kind of thought that micros would be limited to being a specialty item. In addition to the ‘issues’ you outlined I’m sure propagation could become an issue as well.
I do see them as an oddity and will keep mine to grow on as a specimen in a flower box or the like. Hopefully I will be able to use it as a parent as I think ‘Quadra’ could bring some wonderful traits into the mini section of the family. Thanks again!
Rob
Yes, propagation is a real issue until you build enough stock plants to devastate for cuttings. I hope your micro turns out fertile. With as many neat things as have come through minis, hopefully, your micro will have more to add. My experience is, the shorter the inter nodal cane, the easier and faster the plant roots. Not written in stone, but generally. Ralph said he never pushed Softee because it wasn’t as easy to root as he wanted. Same with Star Delight. It is hardy and disease resistant, but devilish to root in his climate. Kim
Funny you should mention Softee. I accidently broke of a cane and cut it in two. I pushed both cuttings into the soil with the mother plant and so far, both seem to be taking. I really like Softee a lot. What a great rose.
I wish there were more micros easily available. They sell all those potted gift minis everywhere here and you’d think the micros would be perfect for that market.
My Softee is a monster! A good 4 feet tall and two feet wide at least and always covered in blooms. I think it would still grow even if it was upside down in the dark!
lol I agree Seil. I grow mine in a large pot and keep it in bounds. I like your idea of micros for the potted plants sold in grocery stores and the like.
Hi David,
Thanks for your feedback on the AARS entries. Mine is the lighter one - less pink than the other (more of a light cream with pink blotch), and foliage is not as glossy. It doesn’t get any mildew here, but I do not know about it’s blackspot resistance.
Jim Sproul
Jim, lots of admiration for that little fella. Kim, I LOVE the micro’s! Your killing me! 
I’m a proud member of the rentership society and space is a premium. I wish there was a subperb micro for the hanging baskets.
As the holidays approach, I cannot help but think of all the G-scale train displays in botanical gardens around the country, with their replicated “gardens” in miniature, using dwarf yaupon and boxwoods in lieu of oak trees, and other small scale substitutions.
How cool would it be to have a micro-mini rose garden inside a popsicle-stick picket fence in one of those displays?
There’s a market, but a small one, to be sure.
Research and contact one of the fabricators or displayers of these exhibits, for instance, and you might get your babies in a prominant setting. The NYBG, Chicago and New Orleans all have these displays. One could possible sell through the G-scale community even, just as one example of a use for the plants.
What I’m wondering, based on Kim’s observations, is how deep do the roots run? Enough to make moderately low maintenance with regards to watering if given adequate root-run?