Q.How can I revive dead-looking mini roses?
How can I revive dead-looking mini roses? I cannot tell if they’re actually dead or not. I live in Knoxville, Tennessee. In October I found those mini roses in Publix. Then I took them home and watered them when needed. When I started Christmas break in December, I had to go somewhere and was not able to water those flowers for a month. When I came back yesterday, they looked dry and had curly and crispy leaves, but the leaves were all green. There were few brown leaves and purple leaves. I read some instructions online talking about how to revive dead roses, but none of the situations was a match for mine. So I watered them in the kitchen sink, pruned brown and purple leaves. But I don’t know if they’re already dead. If not, how can I revive them? Thank you so much for answering. 🙁
I would prune away the dead plant material. Water the plants, but make sure you are only watering when the soil has dried to the touch.
It will be a wait and see!
Here are some links with more information.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/environmental/how-to-tell-if-a-plant-is-dead-and-how-to-recover-an-almost-dead-plant.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/starting-a-rose-garden.htm
Your miniature is most likely going through dormancy (as it is the winter). It may also be suffering from overwatering and then suddenly under-watering. This will definitely stress a plant and even kill it. But! Newt at HelpfulGardener.com gave a wonderful description of how to handle your rose problem. I've copied it here for your benefit: http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4081
…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…It sounds like you over-watered 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 a lot 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. You should also find these sites helpful.
http://www.ourgardengang.com/containerpotting.htm. http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=70. Good luck! Newt
