Those Darn Wilton Buttercream Roses

The Wilton Course I finale is a cake decorated with a spray of buttercream roses. I'll be making this cake on Tuesday, and am not sure how it will turn out. I've been practicing for about two weeks, and think I may be getting the hang of it.

My early attempts weren't too bad, though they definitely were not great (see picture below):

I did realize that my frosting was too stiff. Thinning the frosting a bit helped. I also tried to thicken canned frosting and that worked great, except that the roses were very sticky. But, it was a good cheap and fast alternative to whipping up a batch up decorator frosting.

So, the problems I am encountering:

My base cone is to narrow, so that when any pressure is applied when forming the petals, the whole thing leans and the flower is lopsided.

When I get to the bottom row of petals, there isn't any room for me to get in there with the piping tip.

Do any of you Wilton alums and cake decorators have any advice? All tips are appreciated.

In any case, I think I like mine better than the "textbook" Wilton rose. I feel that they look more natural/organic. So, I'm not sure if I want to change them up too too much.