The red rose is a classic – the rose of lovers, and the rose for lovers of roses. Symbol of enduring love, growing perfect red roses has always been a challenge best left to experts and dedicated gardeners. No longer. Now, on a charming miniature scale, you can easily grow perfect red roses on a compact bush that is just as happy in a pot as it is out in garden beds. Pick some for small vases around the house or as a boutonnière for that special event. Give a bunch – or the whole plant – as your gift to a special person. In bloom continuously, the Red Sunblaze® Rose is exactly such a rose, with double cherry-red flowers that don’t fade and last for more than 2 weeks on the bush, and over 10 days in a vase. Resistant to disease too, this wonderful miniature rose bush will always look fresh and clean, without all that nasty spraying that roses used to need. Enjoy the dream of perfect red roses easily, with this charming little beauty.

Growing the Red Sunblaze® Rose

Size and Appearance

The Red Sunblaze Rose is a rounded, deciduous bush that grows around 15 inches tall and wide, fitting into even the smallest garden. It has many vigorous green stems, covered from top to bottom in neat leaves. These are dark green, with a reddish overlay, especially when they are young, which sets off the dark color of the blooms perfectly. Most leaves are divided into 7 leaflets, with 3 pairs along the central stem, and one at the end. Some leaves have only 3 or 5 leaflets.

The blooms form at the ends of every stem, singly or in pairs. They have unusually long green sepals around them, which look like a fancy collar on the bud. The pointed bud is rich cherry red, and that color holds throughout the life of the bloom, with no fading, until the petals drop. The flower opens to a cup-shaped form, with 20 to 25 petals wrapping around each other to make a dense bloom. The flower is a full 2 inches across, and it looks large on such a small bush. Blooming is profuse, and there are usually many blooms open in various stages every day from May to October.

Using the Red Sunblaze® Rose in Your Garden

If you have a small garden you may have considered rose bushes to be too large for it, but this rose is perfect for even the smallest garden, and it can be tucked into the front of any bed. Use it singly for a color splash, in groups for a blazing drift of color, or as a wonderful edging around a bed, or along a path. It is also the perfect container rose, and it can be grown in planter boxes or pots for years. Even if you only have a balcony or terrace, you can still grow your own roses with this beautiful and reliable plant.

Hardiness

The Red Sunblaze Rose can be grown without protection from zone 5 to zone 10, Plants in above-ground pots and boxes can be left outdoors all winter in zone 7.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

The Red Sunblaze Rose grows best in full sun, but it does grow well even during the shorter and darker days of spring, so it comes into bloom extra early, compared to other roses. It grows best in richer soils, such as clays and heavy loams, but it does need well-drained soil. Very dry, sandy soils are not so suitable, unless they are amended with rich organic materials like garden compost or well-rotted manure. For growing in containers, make sure your planter or pot has drainage holes and add 25% by volume of garden soil to potting soil blended for outdoor plants and trees.

Maintenance and Pruning

It takes very little care to keep your Red Sunblaze Rose happy and blooming away. Remove the spent flowers neatly, cutting back to the first full-sized leaf once the petals fall. Feed regularly with blended rose food, using a liquid formulation for containers, where feeding is especially important for the best results. Mulch garden plants in fall or spring with rich organic material over the root zone, keeping the mulch away from stems and foliage. This vigorous rose normally deals easily with minor pests, and it is very resistant to rose diseases, so spraying is not necessary.

In spring, when you see the buds swelling, prune your bush for the best growth. Remove any dead, weak or broken branches, and trim back the remaining stems by one-third, cutting to a strong outward-facing bud. Nothing more is required, so relax and enjoy the beauty of your rose bush.

History and Origin of the Red Sunblaze® Rose

We must thank the efforts of the famous French rose breeder Alain Meilland for this rose, and for all the Sunblaze® roses. His family has been breeding roses for six generations, and they are internationally renowned. To create the rose he named ‘Meirutral’ he took pollen from a miniature red rose called Red Meillandina (‘Mogral’) and used it to pollinate a vigorous floribunda rose with orange-red flowers called Tchin-Tchin (‘Meichanso’). Among the seedlings he found the perfect miniature dark red rose, and he patented ‘Meirutral’ in 1989. That patent has now expired, and the rose has been released as part of Star® Roses and Plants Sunblaze® family of miniature roses, named simply as Red.

Buying the Red Sunblaze® Rose at The Tree Center

The Red Sunblaze Rose brings you that perfect red rose in a gorgeous miniature version, with the rich color and reliable blooming you want, on an easy-to-grow plant for your garden or in planters. Everyone loves red, so this variety sells fast. Don’t miss out – order now while we still have plants in stock.