Plant care
Baby Love Rose (Baby Love) care
Rosa 'Baby Love'
Also called Baby Love, Scrivluv.
Watering rhythm
Direct sun (at least 4-6 hours)
Deeply once or twice weekly in the growing season, more in heat or in pots
Light
Direct sun (at least 4-6 hours)
Soil
Fertile, well-drained loam improved with organic matter, slightly acidic to neutral (pH 6.0-7.0)
Humidity
40-70%
Temp
-18 to 30°C
Pet safety
Pet-safe
Mature size
About 0.7-1 m tall and 0.6-0.9 m wide
Care at a glance
Light
Aim for at least 4-6 hours of direct sun on the leaves. Full sun (6+ hours) gives the most prolific flowering and keeps growth compact; it tolerates very light shade but blooms best and stays healthiest in an open, sunny position. If your only bright window faces south, that's perfect for baby love rose — same window any aroid would fry on.
Watering
Watering baby love rose: deeply once or twice weekly in the growing season, more in heat or in pots. The number that matters isn't the day of the week — it's how dry the top 2-3 cm of the pot feels. A finger in the soil tells you more than a watering app. After every watering, tip the saucer. Water at the base to keep leaves dry. Keep young and container-grown plants consistently moist; established garden plants tolerate brief dry spells. Mulch to conserve moisture and water in the early morning.
Soil and pot
Baby Love Rose grows best in fertile, well-drained loam improved with organic matter, slightly acidic to neutral (ph 6.0-7.0). Thrives in moisture-retentive but free-draining ground enriched with compost or rotted manure. In containers use a quality loam-based compost with good drainage; avoid waterlogged conditions in beds or pots. A pot with a working drainage hole is non-negotiable for this species — even free-draining mix will turn soggy in a closed planter. If you love the look of a decorative pot without a hole, use it as a cachepot around an inner nursery pot you can lift out to water.
Humidity and temperature
Baby Love Rose sits happiest at around 40-70% humidity and -18 to 30°C (0 to 86°F). An outdoor rose untroubled by ambient humidity and exceptionally resistant to the fungal diseases that humid air can trigger. Even so, give it room and an open habit so the foliage dries quickly after rain. If you keep the room above year-round and avoid placing the plant near a cold draught, a hot radiator, or an air-conditioning vent, you have already handled the two biggest indoor stressors.
Fertilising
Feed baby love rose sparingly. Feed with a balanced or rose fertiliser in early spring and again after the first flush to maintain its long flowering season; feed container plants regularly with a liquid rose feed. Mulch with compost in spring. Stop high-nitrogen feeds by late summer so growth hardens before winter. Skip fertiliser entirely on a stressed, recently-repotted, or actively wilting plant — fertiliser salts make damage worse, not better. Wait for a round of healthy new growth before resuming a feeding rhythm.
Common problems
Below are the issues we see most often on baby love rose in the Growli community. Each is annotated with the most common cause so you know where to start.
- Aphids — Greenfly gather on soft new shoots and buds, distorting growth and leaving honeydew, even on this otherwise trouble-free rose. Hose off, squash by hand or encourage ladybirds and lacewings.
- Occasional rust — While famously blackspot-resistant, it can pick up rust (orange leaf-underside pustules) in very wet seasons. Remove affected leaves, avoid overhead watering and improve air circulation.
- Leggy growth without pruning — Skipping annual pruning lets the tidy patio habit become open and sparse. Cut back by about a third in late winter to keep it compact and free-flowering.
- Drying out in containers — In pots its shallow root run dries fast in summer, stalling flowering and stressing the plant. Check container moisture often, water before the compost dries fully and feed regularly.
Propagation
Propagate from semi-ripe cuttings in summer or hardwood cuttings in autumn, which root over winter. As a named cultivar (registration name 'Scrivluv') it will not come true from seed, so cuttings or budding onto a rootstock preserve the variety; note many such modern roses are protected by plant breeders' rights. Propagation is the cheapest, most satisfying way to expand a collection — and it doubles as insurance against losing a mature plant to an accident. Take a backup cutting once the parent is established and healthy.
Toxicity to pets
Baby Love Rose is pet-safe. ASPCA-listed as non-toxic to cats, dogs and horses (Rosa species, 'Rose', non-toxic, no toxic principle). The leaves and flowers are not poisonous; only the prickles and thorns can cause minor physical scratches to a pet that chews or brushes the stems. If you keep cats, dogs, or curious children in the house, weigh placement carefully — a high shelf or a hanging planter is enough for casual safety. For severe ingestion incidents, call your local vet and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (in the US, 888-426-4435).
Pet-safety status is sourced from the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List, which catalogues the most-asked-about plants for cats, dogs, and horses.
Baby Love Rose care — frequently asked questions
What is the common name for Rosa 'Baby Love'?
Rosa 'Baby Love' is most commonly called Baby Love Rose, but it is also known as Baby Love, Scrivluv. The names refer to the same species, so care instructions for Baby Love Rose apply identically to anything sold as Baby Love.
How much light does baby love rose need?
Baby Love Rose grows best in direct sun (at least 4-6 hours). Full sun (6+ hours) gives the most prolific flowering and keeps growth compact; it tolerates very light shade but blooms best and stays healthiest in an open, sunny position.
How often should I water baby love rose?
Water baby love rose deeply once or twice weekly in the growing season, more in heat or in pots. Water at the base to keep leaves dry. Keep young and container-grown plants consistently moist; established garden plants tolerate brief dry spells. Mulch to conserve moisture and water in the early morning. The finger-test (or lifting the pot to feel its weight) beats a fixed weekly calendar because pot size, light, and season all change how fast the soil dries.
Is baby love rose toxic to cats and dogs?
Baby Love Rose is pet-safe. ASPCA-listed as non-toxic to cats, dogs and horses (Rosa species, 'Rose', non-toxic, no toxic principle). The leaves and flowers are not poisonous; only the prickles and thorns can cause minor physical scratches to a pet that chews or brushes the stems.
What USDA hardiness zone does baby love rose grow in?
Baby Love Rose is rated for USDA zone 5-9 and RHS hardiness H6. Outside that range, grow it as a container plant that overwinters indoors before the first hard frost.
Baby Love Rose deep-dive guides
Every aspect of baby love rose care, each with its own calibrated guide:
- Baby Love Rose watering schedule
- Baby Love Rose light requirements
- Best soil mix for baby love rose
- Baby Love Rose fertilizing guide
- When to repot baby love rose
- How to propagate baby love rose
- Baby Love Rose growth rate & size
- Baby Love Rose cold hardiness
- Baby Love Rose temperature & humidity
- Is baby love rose toxic to cats & dogs?
- Is baby love rose toxic to cats?
- Is baby love rose toxic to dogs?
- Getting baby love rose to bloom
Featured in these plant shortlists
Baby Love Rose qualifies for 9 curated Growli shortlists — each one filtered objectively from our structured plant-care library, so the selection is consistent and checkable:
- Best pet-safe houseplants — Houseplants the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to cats and dogs — every one verified against the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list.
- Best flowering houseplants — Indoor plants grown for their blooms — selected from the flowering species in Growli’s plant-care library.
- Best pet-safe flowering plants — Flowering houseplants the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to cats and dogs — colour and blooms in a pet home, without the worry.
- Best pet-safe plants for bright light — Non-toxic to cats and dogs and happy in a bright, sunny spot — safe plants for your best-lit windowsill.
- Best pet-safe large indoor plants — Big, floor-standing houseplants the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to cats and dogs — a statement plant that is safe around pets.
- Best houseplants for full sun — Houseplants that want direct sun — the species for a hot south or west-facing windowsill where shade-lovers scorch.
- Best houseplants for a cool room — Houseplants that tolerate cool conditions down to about 10°C — for an unheated spare room, hallway, porch or a home kept cool.
- Best cat-safe plants — Houseplants the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to cats (and dogs) — safe greenery for a home with a curious cat.
- Best dog-safe plants — Houseplants the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to dogs (and cats) — safe greenery for a home with a curious dog.
- Browse all 29 plant shortlists — pet-safe, low-light, drought-tolerant and more
Related guides
Baby Love Rose is also commonly called Baby Love or Scrivluv.