Micro Plant, Major Appeal
Micro Plant, Major Appeal By Layci Gragnani

The Garden Treasures micro-miniature roses from Greenheart Farms perform just like many other full-sun annuals — providing gardeners of all levels with a heavy-blooming, low-maintenance plant.

How many customers have come into your garden center and asked, “Do you have something new? Something that’s different and unique… that will make my neighbors jealous.” You laugh, but I’m sure most of you have had that scenario take place at your garden center. Here’s something that will WOW your customers. It’s new and unique in the world of roses. It’s micro-miniature roses.

They’re beautiful, versatile and have a profusion of tiny flowers. A majority of the roses on the market today fall into the perennial category, but these roses are unique because they are annuals. An annual rose? Yes, I repeat, an annual! Now you’re intrigued, right?

Micro-miniature roses grow very similarly to other annuals in the garden. They work very well for borders, landscapes, mixed containers or as a gift plant. Micro-miniature roses are great for children because they create instant satisfaction. Everyone can be successful when growing these plants. Garden centers often overlook the necessity of display gardens and end-caps. These micro-miniature roses can be displayed many different ways and are a perfect fit for both applications.

Inspiring Displays

Establish a foundation for the customer experience by designing displays that inspire, motivate and take the mystery out of garden design. For greatest impact, pick a theme and a color scheme for your display. The Garden Treasures program has endless possibilities for a fun, creative display by using its treasure chest/gemstone theme. You could use a pirate ship or treasure chest as a focal point or simply scatter gemstones around the plants themselves.

Point-of-purchase (POP) materials are a great starting point for any display. If there is POP material to go with your plants, use it! Most POP materials offered today are either free or have a minimal cost. They’re a great way to add signage and color, while sticking with the theme of the brand. Signage within the display can do anything from inform to educate and even empower the customer, so you want to make sure you take advantage of this opportunity.

Create a faux landscape bed in your garden center or showcase these roses in mixed containers. For quick, last-minute gift solutions, design a display of grab-and-go gift plants next to the checkout counter. By following all of these steps, creating interest for these roses will not be a challenge.

Many consumers visit a garden center to be inspired. They may have an idea of what they’d like to purchase for their yard and they want you to help them. Essentially, they don’t shop for products; they shop for solutions.

This is why many progressive retailers display products in a way that shows customers how to use them. By creating inspirational displays, you can do more than just show off your products. Help your customer envision her dream garden and she will leave feeling confident and happy. And you have created a repeat customer!

Rose Appeal

These micro-miniature roses have been bred for disease-resistance and require no maintenance or deadheading. All eight varieties in the collection have a compact growing habit and display small blooms and foliage. They are also heavy bloomers, so customers will love the continuous array of flowers. No cleaning is required but if that is desired, the spent blooms can be removed by snapping them off.

Fragrance plays an important role in a customer’s purchase, and many of these roses display a sweet fragrance (feature this characteristic in the signage). ‘Blushing Mate’ is one of the most fragrant varieties and it’s also one of my favorites.

Whether your customer is an avid or a novice gardener, these roses are all-around perfect for any gardener. Shopping for plants should be a fun experience, but for many people it can generate more anxiety than shopping for a new television. You can help make this experience enjoyable and your customers will leave your garden center feeling confident with their purchase. For more information about the Garden Treasures varieties, visit www.greenheartfarms.com.

Consumer Tips

  • Roses in bloom or cracking color offer tremendous flower power.
  • Roses need a minimum of six hours of full sun exposure per day.
  • Performs best in fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil.
  • Water freely in dry weather and check soil moisture in cooler weather.
  • In moderate to mild climates, prune plants back hard to 6 inches tall during mid to late winter. In harsh winter conditions, prune plants back the same way after the last frost.
  • Even though these are considered an annual rose, they are truly perennials. They can flower year-round in moderate to mild climates.


Layci Gragnani

Layci Gragnani is ornamental marketing and sales director for Greenheart Farms. She can be reached at [email protected].