Nervous with mini roses... begging for advice.

I've never been able to keep them alive for long, so I gave up on trying to keep them.
But...
My better half gave me potted mini-roses for St. Valentine's day, and I absolutely MUST keep them alive. Please help. We plan on planting them outside in a full sun location, hopefully this coming season, but I can't be sure about when. They may end up living as a potted plant for a couple of years.
PLEASE help me keep them alive in the pot as long as possible.
I will also need advice on how to keep them alive through the transplant process and keeping them alive outdoors.
Please, please, please help me with this.

So far, they look healthy and happy to me.
Pictures are attached.
If you see something I don't please let me know.

 

They have been the only roses I've been able to keep alive! At least in a container. I just treat them like any other potted plant. Partial shade and water when needed. Feed occassionally with regular plant food.
I've never tried putting one in the ground. Maybe someone in your growing zone could offer some advice.
Good luck!

 

Keep it house bound until the weather looks a little like spring.

I got five pots last after Valentines Day sale. I planted them in good potting soil in about 12-14 inch outdoor pots that were deeper than wide. Mine had three plants in that little bitty pot so I spread them apart a little as I planted them (I did not separate them). As soon as the hard frost stopped they went out onto a protected patio. Here they are in their little pots. The different varieties were different in their susceptiblity to black spot. Having them potted made feeding and treating much easier. I left mine outside for the winter. Depending on your zone you might have to protect from hard freezes. My red was the most susceptible to black spot and die back. One variety died back quite a bit and I trimmed back today. All are leafing out and I am surprised at the size of three of them.. Good luck and hopefully your Rose will make a lovely patio plant.

 

Wow Jewell... those look great! Maybe I need to check the stores to see if they have some leftover one's from Valentines.

 

Thank you all for the information.
Right now, we have been having daytime highs in the teens and nighttime lows in the negative numbers.
My room temperature is about 60.
I've been trying to keep it in a sunny spot throughout the day, frequently moving it from room to room in order to follow the sun.
It is tough because I don't get any direct sunlight coming through the windows at this time of year.
I just watered them with some water from the fish tank (natural ferts).
Is there any special food I should be giving them? Or wait until spring?

 

Leaves are turning yellow.
Please help.

 

Maybe they aren't like all that moving around?

 

I guess what I'll do is leave them in a certain window where it will get a lot of indirect sun and probably direct sun in the summer.
It is cold there, around 50, but I guess that should be ok.
Should I continue to water it with fishtank water? Or wait until spring?

 

How often are you watering them? Don't just go by a schedule... stick your finger into the soil. I think the "rule" is to let it be dry to the second knuckle before watering again.
Fishtank water is great, but maybe if this plant is struggling it might not be doing it any favors. So maybe just go with clean water until it is looking healthy?

 

Ok, thx.
It is a bit difficult to tell how "dry" the soil is. It is very spongy.
I am considering repotting it, but I don't want to do that if the plant is weak.
I just watered it with spring water. The water I get is a bit high in calcium. I don't know if that makes any difference to mini roses.

Should I repot it now or wait?

 

I would wait Beeker. I would also only water it when the top inch or more is dry as Cheryl suggested. You don't want to kill it with kindness. The yellow leaves may just be the plant adjusting to the reduced light in your house. It has probably been grown in a greenhouse with a lot more sun. It is simply adjusting itself to the reduced light of a house. I would wait until spring then plant it outdoors. It essentially is an outside shrub grown indoors because of Valentines Day. It will be much happier outside where it can go dormant in the winter.

 

Ok, thank you all.
I'll try my best to be patient and not kill it with kindness.

 

Mini's don't like pots. And their northern frontier may be zone 6-A

At least that is what my fumbling has taught me.

 

Every mini rose I tried to keep going in a pot ended up croaking on me. The sooner you can plant it outdoors the better. Last summer my future DIL brought a few home that they were throwing out at CVS . They were near death but as soon as I got them in the ground they started sprouting new leaves and took off. In about a month they were twice the size..