Someone in your zone needs to help you out with some ideas, you'd be zone 5. Minis have a dormant period where the plant looses it's leaves in the winter but will awake in the spring with new leaves and buds and bloom again. There are roses that bloom repeatedly and some that bloom once and some that bloom just a couple of times, it depends on the rose you choose. I don't believe you find any rose that will grow well without any sunlight at all, I'm sorry. You could try and experiment on a couple. Without spending a lot of money, you might pick one from the grocery store, I'm not sure how well it would grow outside at this time of year because I don't know your weather conditions. This is why I can't advise you what to grow. Hopefully someone else will see your thread and help you out.
Leslie

Apple, I also live in Chicago. If you are growing minis in pot I do know you will have to bring them in when winter comes. You might be able to put them in a garage for the winter but someone with more experience then me will have to let you know if that will work.

I don't know if your bright light is strong enough to grow them....you might want to just get a few and see...or go with ones that will live with a bit of shade. I can't help you to with ones those will be. I haven't grown a lot of minis so I don't know about what is out there.

As far as I know minis will keep flowers..off and on.

As for the droughts...you need to keep water them..but don't over water them. When it is hot here..I sometimes have to water my pots everyday.

You could go to a local garden center..you should be able to find minis

Sorry, I can't help you a whole lot but hope this is of some help!

Roses need a minimum of 8 hours of sun.

I appreciate all of your advices. Thanks a lot.

I always thought it was six....guess I might be wrong!

I always thought it was six....guess I might be wrong!

6 hours IS the general recommended minimum of direct sunlight. But it also varies somewhat with the varieties. Some roses will tolerate less light. Once again, someone from the Chicago area should chime in about recommendations.

One variety that springs to mind, though, is Sweet Chariot. A purple, pom-pom-style spreading miniature that is praised for its fragrance, easy care, disease resistance, and cold-hardiness. It might be a good candidate.

I've heard of people taking their roses indoors to overwinter, but they dry out easily indoors and would be confused by the lack of winter temps, so that's not the best solution.

I like the idea of trying just a few roses to start, so you can see how they do for you. One tip for growing minis on a balcony is to give them a shower periodically through the summer with a water-wand or equivalent spray-attachment. The reason is spider mites. These pests are very tiny and hard to see. But they like dry conditions, seem particularly fond of minis, and can infest a bush and suck the leaves dry before you notice them. Hosing down the leaves with a forceful spray every few days helps wash off the buggers before they can do much damage.

Perhaps there are [other] small polyanthas that are hardy in your zone? I'm sorry, but I do not know hardiness above whether my z8s can survive in my 7b. But polyanthas tend to do well in less sun, stay smaller [particularly if you want them to], and may be hardy. A place to research, in any case.

There is usually a lack of fragrance with polyanthas, except for the startlingly strong and beautiful fragrance on Clothilde Soupert. I wonder how hardy she is? Sweet Chariot should be fragrant too... I don't grow him.

My apologies for focusing on non-minis in this forum, but the polyanthas often cross the two subjects.

Meredith,
I'm so happy you did bring up about polyanthas. I'm getting my first polyanthas this season. I'm getting the dwarf ones. Mothersday, Marie-Jeanne and Pomponella Fairy Tale. I didn't know that they tend to do well in less sun. Mothersady and Pomponella...I will be growing in full sun but Marie-Jeanne I was planning to put in a area that gets a little bit less sun so I'm very happy to hear that.
If you have any more tips on growing polyanthas...I would be thankful!!