Modern roses come in a huge array of colors, habits (how they grow,) and sizes. Some are more disease resistant than others, some are fragrant, some will make nice thorny barriers to keep people out of your yard, and others are perfect for that pot on your windowsill.

Roses have actually been around for a long time, at least since Rome, and a few of those old roses are actually available today. More recently there has been an effort by many growers to come up with new varieties, colors, fragrances, and more. They do this by crossing the various roses with other roses that have desireable characteristics, pretty much as you would with any other group of plants.

Miniature roses, now known as "minifloras," were originally discovered in northern Europe and were just a few inches tall. Compare that with some climbing roses which can hit thirty feet, or more, with the right conditions. Now take some of these tiny roses and cross them with the various other roses available, including climbers, and you will come up with a wide range of colors and sizes. Keep the process going, select for the smaller roses and other desired characteristics, and you wind up with the modern minifloras.

Generally speaking, a miniature rose will be around 12 to 24 inches high and will have smallish blooms and leaves, at least compared to more typical roses. They're perfect for low borders, pots, and anywhere else you might want a small rose. They don't usually have much in the way of fragrance, but they more than make up for that with an abundance of beautiful blooms and most will just keep on blooming throughout the season.

Most of the roses you buy at a garden center or nursery will be more standard sized roses and will probably have the plant grafted onto a different, very hardy, root stock. You won't usually find minis in these shops. You can find them in specialty nurseries though, or online, and they are usually priced less than their larger relatives. You'll also find that, unlike most roses that you buy, they will be on their own roots.

Spokane is a "Zone 5" area, with surrounding parts that might reach zone 4, so it gets pretty cold in the winter. Grafted roses tend to have a tough time here, since those winters can kill off the grafted part of the plant. The root stock lives, but most people don't care for the roses that come off of it. A rose on its own roots, mini or otherwise, might die to the ground in the Winter, but will spring back when it warms up and it will still be the same plant. If your rose, or any plant, is rated for zone 5 (or colder) then it will come back year after year. The main difference from growing roses in warmer areas is that you will have more pruning to do in the springtime.

There are a number of miniature roses that have a zone 5 rating, or colder, and they live through our winters, even if the upper part of the plant dies back. Tiddly Winks (a red & yellow blend) and Coffee Bean (a dark red) both do well here, but there are many others ranging in color from white to pink dark red and even lavender. Some are even climbers. In a sheltered enough area the canes on a mini climber might reach six to ten feet and will be covered with small blooms. Rainbow's End Climber is one of these. Lifelines is another, though that one only gets to maybe four or five feet.

If you'd like to give these delightful little roses a try just contact a specialty rose nursery and ask them what kind of miniatures they have in stock. If your nursery is local then the chances are good that all of their roses will grow in your area. If it's online, just make sure that any rose, or any other plant, that you buy is rated for your area.