How much water do roses need during winter/how often should I water?
They don't need a ton. They are dormant so they don't need it for active growth. However, they need to stay hydrated. When I had mine in the shed I would always put at least a shovel full of snow on the top of the soil every time we had to shovel. If it didn't snow I would put a gallon of water in each pot once a month. The rest of the potted roses that were stored outside just got whatever rain and snow there was.
Do potted roses need to be mulched?
I did not mulch the ross in the shed but I did wrap them in burlap. Most of them were tree roses and I felt that upper graft needed extra protection.
How do I ensure my miniature roses have enough room to grow if I decide not to separate them and they're going to be potted?
As of now, I have 2 minis in about a 5 inch pot however, I definitely need to repotted because they need more room to grow however, i'll probably do that after winter.
Well, since mine were planted in the ground I didn't really worry about them having enough space. I will tell you that the potted minis that I ordered from nurseries were not like the store ones and were single plants. Those were potted in at least 15 gallon pots. Those 5 inch pots are not going to be nearly big enough! Minis are only miniature in the size of the bloom and leaves. The plant itself can get as large as any full size rose! And there are mini climbers that will get 12 feet tall or more! If you want them to flourish, next spring, get them much larger pots.
Last question, (it's very specific)
I have a rose that was a "rescued" rose from my parents house, they didn't really want it and cut the rose to it's base around September. So I moved it to a pot and took it to my college apartment and it's grown well however, hasn't bloomed since then and remains having new growth.
It's time to force the roses to dormancy in Cali (i've read roses don't necessarily go dormant on their own here because of the temp.) and i'm unsure how to proceed with this rose.
Is there anything special I should do for it or should I just let it be?
Because of the shorter daylight and cooler temps I'm not surprised it hasn't bloomed. I would just let it go dormant with the others and wait to see what it does in the spring. At this point, having been cut to the ground, it may not be your parents rose that is growing and may only be the root stock coming back.
