[From "Pot Forcing Miniatures," by Harmon Saville, American Rose, February 1994, pp. 16-7:] About 10 years ago, Alain Meilland of Meilland et Cie, came up with the idea of developing a type of Miniature that could be grown very quickly and sold in bloom to grocery stores, mass marketers, and street vendors. The customer would take them home, put them on the table to enjoy while the bloom lasted and then throw them out.

He developed a set of very exact specifications for the new type of mini which he called Meillandina.
Within a very short time, other breeders and growers started to get into the new business in a big way. Gjis de Ruiter, Keith Laver, Moens and Pernille Olesen, as well as several American breeders.
De Ruiter calls his Rosamini and Minimo. Laver calls his Potluck. Conard/Meilland call theirs Mini Wonders.

[From Production of Pot Roses, by H. Brent Pemberton et al, p. 2:] Current production in Europe is estimated at more than 50 million pots. The majority of this production is in Denmark (35 million) and Holland (10 million), with the remainder grown in France, Germany, and Italy. U.S. and Canadian production was estimated at 4 million pots in 1989 but is estimated at over 12 million for 1997.

[Ibid, p. 3:] Traditionally, cultivars from the polyantha and floribunda classes have been used for pot rose forcing... 'Dick Koster' and 'Margo Koster' (polyanthas) have been used extensively... The floribunda 'Garnette' and its many sports (e.g. 'Carol Amling', 'Marimba', and 'Bright Pink Garnette')... Until recently, they were still among the mainstays of the pot rose forcing industry in North America, especially for large containers... Due to recent breeding breakthroughs, however, the palette of [miniature rose] cultivars for pot forcing has rapidly broadened... Many new cultivars have been introduced from Europe where they have become an established floricultural crop, but North American breeding programs also continue to expand. Most modern pot rose production is and will continue to be with miniature-type cultivars...