Creating Arrangements Using Miniature Roses

The possibilities for using miniature roses in arrangements are endless. You can use miniature roses in many types of arrangements: mass, line, line-mass, or oriental manner. You can find further information about creating these types of arrangements in the other arrangement sections here in this web page.

Arrangements using miniature roses in rose shows are typically 10 inches or less in any direction. Some rose shows may have arrangement classes for designs as little as 3 inches in height, depth, and width!

Miniature roses lend themselves to many different sizes of arrangements, depending on the size and number of roses you use. Small arrangements can be used in many different places. Try including them on your dining table near each place setting rather than using a traditional centerpiece. Or place one in a child’s bedroom. Or one on the bathroom vanity. Or even one near the computer (be careful about any water that could conceivably spill!). Small arrangements are extremely versatile since you can them in places where you don’t have a lot of room.

There are a few things you should remember when you create arrangements using miniature roses:

Be careful of scale.

This is the biggest pitfall of doing arrangements using minis. Make sure that your container doesn’t overwhelm your design. You might also want to avoid using bases, since they can make the arrangement seem bottom-heavy (which is bad in any kind of arrangement, but seems particularly problematic in smaller arrangements). Also, try to ensure that your container is only about 1/3 the size of the entire arrangement. (There are exceptions to this rule, but this is a general guideline.)

Certain varieties of miniature roses are inappropriate for small arrangements.

Varieties having large blooms, such as Innocent Blush, are much too large to keep a 10 inch design

in scale. (Innocent Blush, for example, is practically floribunda-sized. Roses that are larger than typical minis should be used in arrangements larger than 10 inches.) For very tiny arrangements, consider using microminis such as Si or Baby Betsy McCall.

Containers are not hard to find.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money on exotic containers for miniature arrangements; consider common household items, such as thimbles, medicine bottles, film canisters, sake cups, and the like. You can use floral foam or tiny pin frogs to hold everything together.

Don’t forget the secondary plant material.

Be sure that the roses will be dominant in your designs. Therefore, your other plant material should be small too. Ming Fern, thin branches, camellia leaves and so forth can be very effective.

Arrangements using miniature roses may be small, but they still pack a visual punch. They are dainty, elegant, and are wonderful for anyone to try!