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Old 03-13-2011, 11:16 AM
Boomer Boomer is offline
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Default Warning: Incoming Ode -- as I am wont to do sometimes.....

Quote:
Originally Posted by starflyte1 View Post
I would like to buy some Knock Out Roses, but need to buy the healthiest possible. I don't have much luck with plants, so need to start with the best. Thanks! Pat
Hi starflyte,

Even though I cannot give advice on where to buy Knock Outs because I am still, alas, in Cincinnati, I simply could not resist jumping into a thread about Knock Out roses.

When you said here that you do not have much luck with plants, I just had to post to offer you sincere words of encouragement. My guess is you are going to do just fine with your Knock Outs.

Why?

Well, first of all, I call Knock Outs the sturdy peasant stock of the rose world. (sorta like me)

Although I love to garden, I have no patience with plants that are way too needy. While I am truly in awe of what a real rose gardener can do, I know better than try to grow those kinds of roses myself.

But I get along just fine with my Knock Outs because they do not require a whole lot from me.

When mid-March arrives, here in Cincinnati that's the time of year to run out into the yard and hack back those Knock-Outs. Makes me feel a bit like the Red Queen, shouting, "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" (Actually, it's more than their heads. They are taken down to a foot or even less from the ground.)

As far as pruning goes, throughout the season, they will bloom either way. But a little pruning increases those dependable blooms. In Cincinnati, they will bloom until frost, but they do take a little rest from time to time, but not for long.

Last year we hit a time here when there were weeks and weeks of no rain. Although I watered the Knock Outs, I did not overdo it. Sometimes, it is almost like these things thrive on a little neglect. (In fact, yellow leaves can mean over-watering of plants.)

Like I said, I probably have no business jumping into a Florida landscaping thread with my Southern Ohio experience, but I think Cincinnati can come darned close to matching Florida's humidity in the heat of summer here. (I happen to really like humidity. I know -- that's kind of strange, I guess. But it's true. I could never retire to Arizona.)

I must confess though that when August rolls around in Cincinnati, I know that I will become downright lackadaisical where my flowers are concerned. And my Knock Outs do not miss me a bit and just bloom and bloom while I sit around on the patio reading a book.

Knock Outs are shrub roses and I have been growing them since I first heard about them. I do not know much about the business end of plants, but I think when a new variety of plant appears, it is sometimes under patent. At that time, the variety is more expensive but later becomes more widely available. (I might just have made that up -- but I think it's right.) Some of my Knock Outs were bought from a nursery and some came from in front of the local grocery store. And they all get along just fine.

On and on I have gone here with my Ode to Knock Outs. But before I step away from this infernal computer, I have one more thing to say....

A couple of years ago, I got my first double Knock Out. Red. My other Knock Outs are planted together, but the double Knock Out is by itself in an area of boxwood and some purple plants. That red double Knock Out's blooms are absolutely stunning. A real stand-out. And just as dependable and independent as can be -- maybe even more so than the originals.

So if you see any double Knock Outs there, you might want to try one of those.

So anyway, starflyte, have courage. Do not be intimidated by that word 'rose' in its name. Embrace the Knock Out rose! (Whoops.....Please do not literally embrace it because it does have thorns. But you know what I mean.)

Boomer

Last edited by Boomer; 03-13-2011 at 02:11 PM.