How to Prune Double Knockout Roses

Double Knock-Out Roses add a major splash of color to any garden but the best thing about the whole Knock-Out line is their very low maintenance.. The Knock-Outs are gaining a cult status with gardeners because they are disease-resistant, bloom continually and need very little pruning or dead heading. They have been described as the workhorse of the flower bed and can take a wide range of temperatures, zones and soil conditions. If you really feel you must prune your Double Knock-Outs follow these simple steps.

Things You'll Need

• Heavy gloves
• Pruning shears

Instructions

1. Avoid pruning the Double Knock-Out rose or the Double Pink Knock-Out rose at all in the first 2 to 3 years.

2. Sterilize your sharp pruning shears with hot water or alcohol. This guarantees a cleaner, healthier cut. Always prune at an angle and not straight across.

3. Activate the Double Knock-Out into growth and blooming by pruning it back a little in the spring after the last hard freeze.

4. Keep the rose under control or if you want it smaller than it's 3-feet wide by 4-inches tall size by pruning it back in the late summer or early fall.

5. Remove dead or old canes at any time. Also cut very thin canes that might be coming up from the ground.

6. Prune your mature plants by using the 1/3 rule each year in the spring. Remove 1/3 of the oldest canes and any stems that are damaged, diseased or dead.

Tips & Warnings

• Double Knock-Outs are very hardy and it is hard to make a pruning mistake-some gardeners even shear them down with a power clippers although this is not suggested. Even after that treatment a few weeks later they are blooming like crazy.

• Double Knock-Outs can grow quite tall, even as high as 5 to 6 feet tall so plant them where they have some space and then you won't have to prune them back so often or severely.