If you love roses, but don’t have a lot of space in your garden – or don’t have a garden at all – then miniature roses were made for you. Only a foot or two tall, these sturdy little characters are tough and reliable, with charming blooms that look just as lovely in a vase as they do in the garden. They are ideal for planter boxes and pots, and they open a whole world of rose growing to anyone with just a balcony or terrace, giving you the pleasure of growing without the need for beds and garden space. The Sunblaze® roses are a collection of miniature roses that are all reliable, vigorous growers. They are disease resistant, and selected not just for beauty but for their ability to flower endlessly, all through summer, bringing you blooms from May to October. If you are a color-lover, then the Rainbow Sunblaze® Rose is for you. The buds are yellow with just a hint of red, but as the blooms open and develop, their outer petals turn glowing orange-red, creating a vibrant and ever-changing bloom. This tough little beauty is exactly what you need for trouble-free rose growing.

Growing the Rainbow Sunblaze® Rose

Size and Appearance

The Rainbow Sunblaze Rose is an upright deciduous plant that grows just 12 to 18 inches tall and wide, in a single season. It has compact foliage from top to bottom, and a few scattered thorns on the stems. The leaves are almost 3 inches long, but divided into 7 small leaflets, in pairs along the stalk, with one at the end. These are oval, semi-glossy, and rich green, with small serrations along the edges.

The flowers begin to form as soon as the stems grow out in spring, and by May your plants will be in bloom. The flowers are in clusters of up to 5 blooms at the end of each stem, and they are very long lasting, holding on the plant for up to 3 weeks, and even in a vase for at least 10 days. They are also very large for a miniature rose, over 2 inches across when fully open. They are fully double, with up to 70 petals, and they make a great show. As the bud begins to show color it is golden yellow, with a hint of red along the edges of some petals. When the bloom opens fully into its cup-shaped form, the outer petals have become orange-red, and this rich color spreads as the bloom ages, all along the edges of the petals, until it predominates.
Since your bush will have blooms at all stages, it really is a rainbow of warm colors glowing out with joy and brightness.

Using the Rainbow Sunblaze® Rose in Your Garden

With its compact size, this rose is ideal for planting in the front of your beds, alone or in groups. Use it as edging along a pathway, or at a strategic turning point in a bed as a highlight. Plant it to be admired by a doorway or gate, or on a retaining wall at eye level. It is also perfect for growing in planter boxes and pots, where it will thrive for years, and bloom continuously.

If you have grown roses in the past you probably had problems with the leaves yellowing and falling or turning dusty and gray. You won’t have those problems with this rose, and you won’t need to be spraying constantly with nasty chemicals either, because it has been bred to be resistant to all the major rose diseases, particularly powdery mildew. The leaves will be clean and green all season long.

Hardiness

The Rainbow Sunblaze Rose is hardy from zone 5 to zone 10, and it grows especially well in the warmer zones, with good heat tolerance and vigor during the hottest days of summer. Plants in above-ground pots and boxes are hardy to zone 7.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Grow the Rainbow Sunblaze Rose in full sun for the best blooming. The soil should be well-drained, and this rose appreciates richer soils, including clays, and it won’t grow so well on dry, sandy soil unless you enrich it with organic material and water regularly. For containers use a blended outdoor potting soil with 25% by volume of garden soil added. Make sure there are drainage holes in your pot and water regularly.

Maintenance and Pruning

The Rainbow Sunblaze Rose is very low maintenance – you don’t even really need to dead-head it, as the flowers don’t produce hips, so the stems just fade away. Mulching with rich organic material in fall or spring will conserve moisture and feed your plant. A regular fertilizer program, especially for plants in containers, will give you the best results. Pests are rarely an issue with such a vigorous plant, and it is disease resistant, so forget about spraying.

Pruning in early spring is the only care needed, just once a year. When you see the buds beginning to swell, remove all dead, weak or damaged stems. Cut back the remaining stems by one-third, cutting just above an outward-facing strong bud. That’s it – it’s very simple.

History and Origin of the Rainbow Sunblaze® Rose

The Sunblaze roses were created by the renowned French rose breeder Alain Meilland, whose family have spent six generations growing and breeding roses, making their roses famous around the world. To create this rose he began by crossing together a yellow and red miniature rose called Rainbow’s End (`Savalife`) and one of his own yellow miniature rose seedlings called `Meivoufal`. With pollen from one of the seedlings that he then grew, he pollinated another yellow miniature variety called Symphonie Lumiere (`Meitomkin`) and grew the seedlings. Among them he found one that was exceptional, and he called it ‘Meigenpi’. It was patented in 2007, and released in America by Star Roses and Plants as Rainbow, in their Sunblaze® family of roses, where it is a top favorite of everyone.

Buying the Rainbow Sunblaze® Rose at The Tree Center

For a colorful addition to your garden, or to begin growing miniature roses on your balcony or terrace, you really can’t beat the ever-changing Rainbow Sunblaze Rose. Plant a glorious blaze of color across your gardening space, but act quickly, because these roses are incredibly popular, the demand is high, and our stock is limited. Order yours right away.