Growing Roses Indoors - UK Guide

We recently wrote about several tips to help you grow roses in your garden. But, what if you wanted to grow roses indoors? Maybe you don’t have a garden? Maybe you just want to grow roses both outside and also inside. Perhaps you want them in your conservatory. After all, we can never have enough when it comes to roses!

This post is all about educating you about growing roses indoors. And, it is UK specific. Speaking of indoor roses, do you love to be able to see an arrangement of perfectly bloomed rose every now and then? With forever roses, you don’t have to wait until summer for your garden to bloom and reward you with captivating sights of roses. Forever roses are real roses that have been preserved. Imagine taking a rose in perfect bloom and preserving that look, feel and fragrance for years. That’s what forever roses can do. And what better place to buy forever roses than right here at Luxerosa UK, one of the country’s leading online retailers of eternity, infinity and forever roses.

Growing a Rose Indoors – Tips for the UK

The good news about growing roses indoors is that it is very feasible. There’s thousands of Brits who have successfully grown roses in planters, boxes and balconies or just about anywhere they fancy inside their home. The key to successfully growing a rose indoors is to first pick the right rose to grow.

Which rose varieties are best for indoors in the UK?

The bad news is that large roses don’t do well indoors. This is because rose plants require plenty of direct sunlight, which cannot always be facilitated indoors. But, if you can settle for a miniature or a smaller sized rose variety, there’s plenty of options to choose from as these fare better in indoor conditions.

Here are popular small-sized or miniature rose varieties that do well indoors.

1. The Fairy – Pink in colour, these rose plants can reach a height of about 40 centimeters
2. Robin – Featuring a beautiful and rich wine red coloured rose, this rose plant can reach heights of about 30 centimeters. But, they do spread out a lot, as opposed to growing vertically
3. Hakuun – Popular because it yields decadently white roses, these plants can reach about 40 centimeters in height as well

Other popular indoor varieties include Little Flirt, La White Pet and Mister Bluebird. If you are looking for a particularly minimalistic rose plant, La White Pet will please you well with beautiful white flowers and a plant that reaches a height of no more than 20 centimeters.

We do not recommend large rose plants for indoor growing. But, if your indoor space can get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight, you can consider varieties like Orange Triumph, Eutin and Arthur Bell. These plants reach heights between about 50 to 70 centimeters. The south facing side of your home is usually where indoor spaces receive the most amount of sunlight in the UK.

Soil for Indoor Roses

When it comes to growing an indoor rose, you have more control over the soil you can use in your planters. So, use this as an opportunity to create a soil mix that is very nutritious and also a bit on the permeable side. We say a bit on the permeable side as you don’t want the soil to be too permeable either.

Ideally, a mixture that uses about 33% lawn soil, 33% decomposed animal manure and about 16% mould and 16% sand will give you great results for indoor roses. The ideal pH for indoor roses is 7 (neutral pH). A little more or less should be ok though.

When to plant Indoor Roses

Autumn is by far the best time to get your indoor rose journey started. If you miss that window, the beginning of spring works as well, though not as well as autumn. Cut the roots and place a few healthy buds above the soil mix we recommended earlier. Then, add in about a 2 centimeter layer of sand. Ensure that you the soil doesn’t come up all the way to the brim of your pot. Aim for it to top off with about 2 cm to spare from your pot’s lip. Pat the soil around your roots but don’t pack it in. Water your indoor rose plant and you are on your way!

How to water indoor roses?

Follow the finger test rule to water your rose plants. Simply stick your finger about 1-2 inches into the soil. If it feels damp or moist at that depth, you don’t have to water your plants. If it is a bit dry, they need water. With a bit of experimentation, you will quickly identify a pattern of watering that works best for your rose plant, in your home’s unique indoor conditions.

What pots are best for indoor roses?

Interestingly, the choice of pot material can play an important part in the health of your indoor roses. From what we have seen, ceramic and synthetic pots seem to be better homes for indoor roses. This could be because such materials are not affected by moisture absorption or dampness which then provides your roses a more stable soil composition. Ceramic containers seem to fare best as they seem to aerate well, allowing for even roots to breathe, ensuring healthy plant life.

Natural material containers like wooden and stone containers can work as well. But, wooden pots are sensitive to dampness and can sometimes make watering your roses produce unpredictable results. Stone containers are also rather tricky as they are easily affected by temperature changes brought on by the absence or presence of sunlight.

Caring for the leaves of your Indoor Rose Plants

A lot of people don’t know this but keeping your plant’s leaves healthy can mean that your rose plants grow to their full potential. Make it a weekly affair to carefully cleanse your leaves and rid them of dust and debris. This will allow your leaves to remain disease free, keep insects away and really nourish your rose plant, which will then obviously result in glorious blooms.

When to mulch Indoor Roses?

When indoor roses bloom is when you want to feed them with mineral fertilizers. Any good fertilizer, preferably organic, can be fed in a 2 grams to 1 litre diluted ratio.

Best temperature to grow indoor roses

Rose plants thrive if they are in an indoor space with a temperature that hovers between 18 to 20 degrees Celsius. Just ensure that your rose plant is not subject to any undue drafts, hot or cold. Healthy humidity levels are also necessary. Humidity levels from 30% to 35% should be ideal. Drooping leaves or shriveling roses can be signs of low humidity levels. In such cases, you can easily increase the humidity around your rose plant by placing your rose planter on a tray of pebbles, with water in it. High humidity is usually never a problem in the UK.

When and how to prune indoor roses?

It is very important that you prune roses as soon as they begin to fade. Not doing so will mean less than stellar chances for that stem to re-bloom in the next cycle. When pruning your indoor roses, do not use your hands to pluck the flowers. Instead, use sharp pruners to cleanly cut the stems at a 45 degree angle. Such a cut allows for great regrowth and also keeps disease at bay.

So, there you have it. Tips to help you grow roses indoors, in the UK. We wish you the very best of luck with your rose growing journey!