Knockout Rose Questions
 

New snowbird that will be here in TV from October thru April.

Questions for those who are growing knockout roses here...

Will they bloom thruout the winter, if not for what duration are they flowerless? How drought tolerant/ lack of care tolerant for the Summer when I'll be gone?
Any good varieties that are 3-5 foot tall, more like a shrub and red?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I have a knockout plant that looks like a tree, so the answer is that there are a variety like you're asking about. You might have to train it to grow that way if you can't find one at a nursery.

I can't tell you much more since ours was already planted when we bought our previously owned home a couple of years ago. What little I can tell you is that they're in the same family as the drift rose plant whereas the drift rose is more of a lower growing ground cover type of plant. The following website might give you a better answer to what you're looking for than I'm capable of doing:

P. Allen Smith Garden Home

We are seasonal residents, here from November to May. We have four knockout rose bushes. They require minimal care and seem to be resistant to frost. Ours do well just being watered by our irrigation system once a week. We see pictures of them taken during the summer when we're gone, and they are gorgeous. They seems to bloom off and on all winter long. Love them. Fairfield Farms usually has a good selection of Knockout roses.

I've also been told that regular pinching off dead flowers (dead heading) will produce a greater number of colorful blossoms!

I prefer the Flower Carpet Rose (Scarlet) to the Knockout and Double Knockout varieties.
Very bright red flower, excellent bush shape, super long blooming season.

http://www.tesselaar.com/upload/imag...0412120633.jpg

They are pretty heat resistant. They do need to be dead headed and pruned at times or they get very leggy. We only water the once a week with the restrictions and husband does some fertilizing, but they are pretty easy to grow.

Thanks to everyone who replied to my gardening post!!!

I'll be planting a knockout rose shortly.

Dont be afraid to cut them back " RON'S LANDSCAPING INC."
 

Here are a few pointers for your Knock Out Roses, don't be afraid to cut them back periodically most people do not trim them back often enough. You have to cut them back in order to keep them in shape even if there are blooms on them. I'm often asked when should we cut them? The answer is when they need it, if you don't they will get out of hand and start to look terrible, any plant when growing, that is not trimmed will want to go back to it's native state. That means it will have 3 or 4 main leaders and start to look very sparse. The biggest problem I see with people taking care of there bushes is they do not prune them enough and don't feed them enough. Just don't feed them now in the winter to much because they will bring out new growth and that growth is very tender. And if we get a freeze the plants will get hurt easy. And for the "Knock Outs" February is a good time to trim them back hard, even a foot or so above the ground, they will come back just fine when it starts to warm and as you start to feed them they will look just great. I myself do not like Drift Roses all that much because they don't support themselves very well and they lay on the ground to much and don't show all that well, and I don't think they really do all that well in the heat. The "Knock Outs" seem to handle the heat better but they can yellow out a little when it is really hot and humid out,but they pop right back when it cools down again. I was a grower here in Florida for years and every time the seed companies came out with a new color or variety of plant it was the best thing since you know what. But after a season or two in the landscape that's when you saw how the plant really held up. Remember just because the lable says it does well in 70 to 80 degree heat, it may do better in a dry heat rather then Floridas heat along with all the humidity. "Knock Out" Roses are a good choice for this area keep them sheared-fertilized and dead head them and you will have a beautiful plant.

They do INDEED bloom now. Mine are just full of blossoms. I keep cutting off the spent ones.

My beautiful knock out roses have more and more yellow leaves! I religiously deadhead, have sprayed for black spot and fertilize with Jobes for KO roses. Now what?

BEST bang for the buck in this area. Most reds and pinks will grow 3-5 feet tall - just let them grow. They don't like a lot of water and like full sun.
Happy growing! Mallory voice:coolsmiley:

and best of all the leaves don't get 'black spot' like regular roses get.

Thanks for the great advice. I need to do this to my plants here in Michigan and I am glad to hear that they will grow in FL also since I love that they provide color all season long.

Beautiful