How to Maintain Knockout Roses
The Knockout rose, which won the 2000 AARS award, has become the most widely-sold rose in North America. Its neat, compact shape make it ideal for hedge and foundation plantings, and the bright, cherry-red blooms provide a spectacular burst of color in the landscape. Hardy, disease- and pest-resistant, and continually blooming, it's a satisfying and relatively low-maintenance rose. However, it requires feeding, pruning, adequate light and water, and a watchful eye to keep it healthy and beautiful. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Leather gloves
- Bypass pruning shears
- Rose fertilizer
- Hose, watering can or installed irrigation system
Instructions
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How to Maintain Knockout Roses
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Assure your Knockout Rose is getting enough sunlight: Roses need at least 5 hours a day--much more is better--of unshaded sunlight. Move the plant or remove the structures or plantings that are blocking the sun if it's not getting this minimum, essential dose of sunlight every day. All roses, including Knockout, will not bloom their best if they don't get adequate light.
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Water your roses. Knockouts need about 1 inch of rain a week, so supplement nature every week the rainfall is short of that minimum amount by watering by hand using a hose, watering can or irrigation system. Make sure the water is applied at the base of the plant and not sprinkled onto the bush from overhead, as this can promote disease, and also likely means that insufficient water is reaching the rose's root system.
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Prune the rose bushes. Wearing protective leather gloves and using bypass pruning shears that are sharp and with blades cleaned with rubbing alcohol (be careful!), cut back the rose bush to remove damaged stems and those branches with many hips forming on them. Reshape the bush, if desired. In addition, if you live in a region with cold, freezing winters, prune the rose bush back to eliminate all blackened, dead portions of the rose canes each spring. Knockouts will continue to bloom without pruning, but you'll get significantly better results with light, periodic pruning.
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Feed the roses using a rose fertilizer. Either organic or chemical fertilizers will work, but be especially careful to follow the instructions on the package when using a chemical fertilizer, as they can promote growth that is too rapid, resulting in shoots that are more susceptible to pests and disease. Apply the fertilizer around the base of the rose bush in early spring, and again after each 'flush' of new blooms.
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Clean up the bed surrounding your Knockouts in spring and fall, and periodically during the growing season. Fallen leaves and other garden debris can harbor and nurture pests and disease.
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Monitor your plants for pests and disease. Look for discoloration of the leaves, or insects, or web-like structures on the stems, leaves or buds. At the first sign of trouble, treat with chemical pesticides or 'rose dust'. The Knockout rose was bred to be particularly resistant to disease and pests, so you're likely to have less trouble with these garden nuisances, but it's important to act promptly at the first sign of trouble to prevent serious damage to your rose.
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Tips & Warnings
Applying a 2-inch layer of garden mulch is a good strategy to keep moisture in the soil if you find your roses dry out between watering. In cold climates, stop applying fertilizer about a month before your expected frost date to encourage the rose bush to slow its growth in preparation for freezing weather. If you see ants on your Knockout roses, look very carefully at the undersides of the leaves, as you almost certainly have an aphid infestation. To get rid of them, simply wash them away with a strong blast from the garden hose.
