h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have a miniature rose, and it didn't do well over the winter. Its still growing, but has lost most of its leaves, and doesn't seem to be putting out any new ones. I would really appreciate any help anyone can give me.

Sounds as if it needs pruning, it's not really the right time of year, but snip it back to a leaf nodule, feed it with liquid fertiliser & put it in a cool room away from direct sunlight. You could also check for black spot & aphids

Roses are to some extent deciduous-it depends on their genetic makeup whether they are or not. .It should have been fed last growing season-tomato fertiser is good, and make sure it has enough water, particularly if it's in a container. I'm borrowing this site from a friend by the way.

Thanks for the advice. Tomato fertilizer??? I'll give it a try.

Is your rose an indoor or outdoor plant? We've had some very sad looking indoor specimens transformed by planting them outside. They're all now flowering their little socks off!

Did you manage to save it?
If not, it may have been the florists" fault rather than yours. Perhaps what you have/had is not a rose bush at all but a cluster of unrelated twigs that is only meant to bloom once, lasting slightly longer than cut flowers They do this with Chrysanthemums also and. while you have a nice blaze of colour for a bit, they only rarely produce twice/

My minature rose plant, which replaced the one I had when you were here and which died the week after, has turned into a rambling climbing rose. It is now about 3 feet tall and growing at least 3 inches a day...which means I have to get it a bigger pot today.

Encouraged by this I bought some live herbs and put them on the same windowsill and they are now doing similarily - the kitchen is now awash with lemon thyme. Perhaps I shall get a rose petal and lemon thyme salad out of this

Take them in to your office and get some nice greenfingered person to love them while you are away. [My office currently has five of my own plants and five belonging to other people - one of which is not doing well. Help!]

My "office" is actually a bit of a cube farm, so I'm not sure that plants would survive too well.

Declan can look after them for a while, I suppose, or the rose could be set free in the garden - there's not much chance of frost before mid Oct?

I wonder what (if anything) I've got from Los Angeles.....

no...first frost doesnt usually happen in the northern us until november....

That last sentence (about wondering what I'd got from LA) was misplaced in this forum. I'm actually in Dublin, Ireland - and more importantly, so is my so called miniature rose plant...but that said, it is nigh on unheard of for there to be frost before November here too - so it may get banished to the garden whilst I am on holiday.