I have 13 first year double KO roses that are doing great. I have been deadheading just to keep them neat looking. My question is: Can I just snap the bloom off at the base of the bloom or do I need to cut back to a five leaf joint? They snap off easily, but leave a stub of a stem. Someone told me that I needed to cut back to the 5 leaf joint? I'd like some opinions from this group. Thanks for your responses. Rosalie

Rose Slugs are causing some of those spotty brown/whiteish areas. Keep the bush well watered in your heat and do not over fertilize as that also causes leaves to brown and curl. So in the Spring when you first start seeing holes and those spotty areas start picking those Rose Slugs off or spray safers insecticide soap/ Or spinosad before it gets worse. You will have to repeat later on... I grow only own root roses so I'll let someone else answer the suckering cane question... This post was edited by jim1961 on Wed, May 29, 13 at 19:26

Your blossoms faded ... because that's what they do. Blooms lasting two weeks is really pretty good. However, the nursery advised you correctly that you needed to move your plants so that they get more sun. The one thing that I found will kill a Knockout (though not in a few weeks) ... is lack of sun. When you transplanted them, you should have held off on the fertilizer. That's kind of like force-feeding someone when they already have stomach distress. But they should make it through, as long as you give them planty of water. Water will dilute the fertilizer, to some extent, and allow your plants to reestablish in their new locations. Also, because they're a little root-compromised right now, you may want to shield them from the sun during the hottest part of the day. Eventually, they'll be able to take it, ... but, probably, not now. BTW ... the Knockout is a real rose. They are spectacularly successful in the landscape, and provide color throughout the growing seasons. At some point, you might want to try a different, more traditional type of rose, but, in general, ... they not as easy. Enjoy your Knockouts. I certainly enjoy mine, and am thnking of getting a couple more, ... even though I have "real" roses, as well.

Wow, fairysoapgirl, that is a lot of KO roses and I love them! They are so beautiful as a hedge like that and I think those trees behind them are a great accent. I bought a one quart pot of Walker's Low Catmint because I remembered someone (I thought it was you, Rita:) mentioning it here on the forum. My search brought up this thread. I'm glad I did, because I missed the roses the first time around. That Walker's Low Catmint looks taller than I thought it would get and now I am not sure where to put it. Can someone tell me how tall it grows and how much it spreads in their garden? Also, once it's established, will I be able to take starts off of it? Thanks. Vickie