Love mine too--here's my Blushing, putting on its show:

{{gwi:269083}}

Zeffy,
Y'all aren't alone.
An older friend of mine gave up her home and gardens and moved into a condo with a very small gardening area. She had her herbs moved into her postage stamp backyard, and she moved all of her Knockouts...She defiantly declared that she wouldn't move without her Knockouts. This from someone who had done the heavy fertilizer/spray routine with Hybrid Teas for decades.
Last week I saw where another friend had used Knockouts to infill her huge Eutin Floribunda bed.
Insidious roses, those Knockouts, bringing roses back to towns across America.

A brave soul, is Florence, to declare so loudly on this forum, such an unpopular concept!

I have a few myself planted in spots where another rose would not grow and they just bloom and bloom and bloom and are simply the picture of health and vigor. I have a very large yard and they fill in some gaps in the landscape quite nicely. I have a Double Pink one in a pot that sits in a corner and provides hot pink color constantly (the blooms are quite cute, too!)

I never have to think about them unless I want to - they are almost like the other shrubs in the yard except they provide color - which leaves me lots more time to fuss with my other roses! I've been gardening for years and years and I don't feel one bit unsophisticated for having them in my yard.

Happy Gardening with Whatever Rose Makes You Happy!

Lynn

Florence,
I am very happy you are enjoying your roses, whatever they are. I don't think a rose is more or less worthy based on the number of people who grow it. Roses should give the gardener joy!
Masha

Let's face it--they are a great splash of color in the landscape. And who could argue with a rose that is easy to care for and eager to bloom? I'm sure your Knock Out feels right at home in your "darwinian" garden, Florence. Plus, you like it, and that is all that matters. (Forget the snobs!)

Happy rosing.

Kate

Me too. I can't understand those who feel they need to rip the Knock Out rose. It was never meant to replace Tiffany or Souvenir de la Malmaison. It has its own place as a great landscape shrub (which just happens to be a rose). And yes, even though I can't fully appreciate many rose fragrances, I can enjoy the scent of KO.

I have Knockout in my garden too and I think it deffinately has its place.

I'm happy that KO's are good roses for you, but it's just that they're not for me. Although I certainly can relate to not being able to garden as easily as I used to & I like roses that are easy to take care of, too, it's just that I see them everywhere and I'd like to see something different occasionally. There are other great roses out there. Red and pink KO's are described as not having a fragrance (yellows do) and I've never detected any. Those that do smell a fragrance have a better nose than mine.

I have red double knockout (which of course is dark fluorescent pink) next to Country Dancer which is a lighter fluorescent pink... They go smashing together!

Sunny knockout (yellow) looks white to me... at least they are whenever I see them...

"Familiarity breeds contempt" and that is definitely true with what has happened with this variety. If another variety - a beloved rose (just for example), Souvenir de la Malmaison (sp?) or another (take your pick!) was spread across landscapes as thoroughly as KO's and that was all that was ever carried at the nursery (rows and rows of SLDMs everywhere you go)........well, there would soon be disparaging remarks about SDLM and a lot of people wouldn't want it anymore because it would be too "common". (I would actually like to see a long row of SLDMs in full bloom - how gorgeous!)

KO's are unfortunately, a victim of their own health, ease and vigor! It's the same with crepe myrtles here. They are everywhere (including my yard!) They are easy, grow fast and bloom beautifully for long periods of time. Sound familiar? Well, there are a lot of people who swear they HATE crepe myrtles. I guess they are the "KO" of the ornamental tree world!

Lynn

Florence, that's a lovely pic with the raindrops. I can see why you like Knockout so much.

I call the KO the "American" roses, because they are not easy to find here, very very rare to see them anywhere, but so widespread in the USA, and they have such a "clashy" unbelieveable color, which is very difficult to combine with the color of other roses.
But I like them, at least until now (they are still very young). As I love any carefree and generous rose.

Rugosas give fragrant flowers and later hips, KO give more flowers which compensate the lack of hips and of frangrance. So I grow both kinds in the garden.
What I feel reading posts on this forum, is there might be the risk of a loss in variance, if ONE rose becomes too widespread. Even if many other roses bloom less or are less tough, a variegated mix of colors and shapes in a garden is not to be underestimated.
As far as I can, I therefore grow different sorts of rugosas and different sorts of the KO group.

PS: I enjoy seeing pictures of your KOs, and of your gardens!! Some do look so strange! :-)

Can't find fault with a rosebush that blooms all the time! All roses have a place for someone somewhere... I swore I would never have HT's, but I had 4 at last count and am about to get about 5 or 10 more from my everexpanding list, which will probably pretty soon include knockouts as well.

I have a Rainbow Knockout, it is a very pretty bush.

My biggest problem with knockouts is they are not hardy... any more than alot of crown hardy roses are.. IE major winter die back, which would be fine, if they didnt market them as being hardy..

also, my best nursery completly removed its very good northern selection of roses ie canadians, rogusas and the like and replaced it, with you guess... all knockouts, rainbow knockout, regular knockout goes on and on.. a 1000 knockouts.. whoopie doopie.

You will not find knockouts in maine in a hundred years like you do some of the old albas and gallicas, that have survived that long... They just dont have the hardiness to survive, maybe a few places on the coast, but like this last year, a major cold blast went through one of our warmest coastal cities, portland, I drive by a huge patch of these near a business park half of them died completly the other half are now regrowing from the crown, I dont think the landscape people are very smart, they havent pruned any of it off yet, it looks terrible! I feel like pulling over and doing it for them!

Silverkelt

I admit that I was leery of KO roses for a few years. Not because they're common, but because I didn't believe the hype (or what I thought was hype). I've planted landscape roses before and they were slightly better than some of the OGR's or Buck roses.

So a couple of years ago I had an open space in the garden and a desire to see if the hype met the reality. I treat the KO same as any other rose (I have a tough-love policy in my midwest garden) and it seems to be holding its own. Not quite as nicely as my Betty Boop but maybe she's in an ideal spot and has an advantage over KO.

The color is garish (original KO) but I'm convinced enough to have purchased a double pink KO - in a body bag no less - and to give it some space in my garden.

I've also seen the pictures of Rainbow KO and decided I'd like it in my garden but haven't been able to find it locally. That's okay, hunting for a rose is part of the fun.

Karol