How to Care for Knock Out Roses

Knock Out roses were developed by William Radler, a Wisconsin botanist who was looking for a hardy, disease-resistant rose bush. Knock Out roses are a shrub rose bush that grows to about 3 feet in height and stays in a relatively tidy mound. Proper care will keep this rose bush blooming late into the fall.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Cut the Knock Out rose bush down to approximately 12 inches in early spring, using a handheld pruner.

2. Shape the Knock Out rose bush during the growing season. Keep the mound as rounded as possible. Trim any branches that are growing faster than others.

3. Remove faded blooms by deadheading to encourage new growth. Regular deadheading will keep the Knock Out rose bush blooming until late fall.

4. Water the Knock Out rose bush at the bottom of the shrub. Reducing the shrub's exposure to overhead watering prevents leaf spot and disease. Increase the watering frequency during dry weather.

5. Spread a layer of mulch around the Knock Out rose bush, taking care not to pile the mulch against the stems. Apply mulch approximately 3 inches thick.

6. Apply a fertilizer developed for rose bushes. Follow the manufacturer's instructions on fertilizing frequency.

7. Ensure that the Knock Out rose bush is in a sunny location with well-drained soil. Roses placed in heavy soil may rot.

Tips & Warnings

• Leave the Knock Out rose bush intact over the winter and cut the shrub down each spring. The roses bloom on new growth.
• Knock Out roses have thorns. Use heavy-duty gardening gloves when handling the plant.

Resources

• The Knock Out Rose Family website

[daleramsey]

on 8/25/2009 I have several knockout roses in my landscape. The ones in my front yard are doing great but the ones around my back patio have lost most of their leaves and not hardy as they are in the front yard. Does anyone know what the problem may be and what to do to correct it?

[byrdyard]

on 3/1/2008 My Dermatologist said the fungus on the thorns gives a bad infection, I had one that looked red and swollen and hurt. Roses often leave a tip of the rose thorn imbedded so you have to make sure you get that out, just like a bee stinger.

[fayedeck]

on 12/13/2007 I got stuck by a knock out rose thorne and it hurt like the dickens!!! I really thought I may have got bit by an insect or snake. It bleed very little, but turned red and whelped up like a bee sting. Do these roses have poison in them?