Knock Out Roses - Pros/Cons?

gypsysunrise

15 years ago

Ok.. So.. I am not familiar with Knock Out Roses.

What are the good Vs. Bad points?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

dublinbay z6 (KS)
15 years ago
Good Points:
Brilliant splash of color, especially on the cherry red ones.

Easy care. Exceptionally disease-resistant.

Bloom and rebloom a lot.

One of the first to bloom in the spring.

Self-cleaning--in that you don't have to deadhead (but the bushes look neater if you do--at least some).

Good starter rose for the timid or unsure. They will feel like an instant success.

Bad points
Individual blooms are not very interesting.

Don't think they are very fragrant, but I'm not sure about that.

Everybody and their second cousin has one. I'm really getting tired of seeing them everywhere (although I own 2 Double Knock Outs).

Can get rather large, a problem if you are looking for a smaller rose. (Double Knock Out seems to be a bit smaller.)

You'll miss out on the incredibly varied and beautiful world of roses if you stop with Knock Out.

That's about all I can think of. There really aren't many down sides to KOs.

Kate
Maryl (Okla. Zone 7a)
15 years ago
If you ever have a chance go to a rose show. Look at all the roses there. From my beloved modern varities to the Heirloom roses(OGR's), there is different beauty, form, fragrance and color in abundance. But from commercial shopping centers to gas station landscaping, every rose is the same basic Knock Out. It almost has replaced Stella De Oro Daylilies as the "plastic plant" of the strip mall. I've seen KO's used judiciously in the landscape and it adds to the overall effect, but just planted in mass?...I'm so tired of it (along with the basic philosophy of instant gratification without effort).
Related Discussions
Rows or Raised Beds - Pros and Cons
Q
Comments (27)
I garden in lower framed beds (10" deep), taller raised frame beds (20" deep), lagsana gardens framed in old concrete chunks and also frame free raised beds. I have lots of options, and find that there is a place for all. My annual vegetables go in the framed beds or at church in the unframed raised beds. The lower beds are best - they drain very well and seem to stay disease free. The taller beds hold more wet soils and were filled mostly with compost which both depletes quickly and can carry disease for long periods if disease gets into the soil (soil choice wasn't mine). The few issues with the frameless raised beds in our garden is that they get very weedy because matting weed grasses have taken over in walkways, and the walkways between beds are far too narrow for some people (we have a variety of people who garden with us). The framed beds are much easier to keep grass free and it's just easier for people to move about them we find. I love my concrete edged lasagna beds for perennial vegetables. The soil stays more moist in them yet drainage is excellent, I can keep layering inside the frames easily while building the beds and the beds "look" like something even when they are filled only with green manures or mulches. I can create any look I like with the chunks of free concrete and it always looks like rock in a few years and it always looks more planned. A nice idea if you have a front yard garden and want your vegetables looking more like ornamental gardens. I think everything has it's place, it is really what you prefer, what you can budget for.
...See More
Knock Out roses vs Fairy Roses?
Q
Comments (8)
Originally, the "Fairy Roses" were dwarf (two to sixteen inches) rose bushes with single or double blooms, cultivated in the 1800's. They are/were dwarf or miniature Chinas and are probably virtually extinct now. The fairy rose available today is a Polyantha Shrub Rose which is usually a smaller than average rose bush, growing to about three feet. The pros and cons between Polyantha Shrubs and Knock Outs are pretty much dependent on what you like, want to take care of, and how much you want to see the same thing (particularly in the case of the Knock Outs) in almost every garden from Maine to California and everywhere in between.
...See More
Starting bare root roses in pots: pros and cons?
Q
Comments (6)
So I potted up my 4 bare root plants. So far so good. One is losing some leaves from underneath, turning yellow and falling off. This one is Brandy, and seemed like the most vigorous one with a jillion budeyes. Well, maybe a billion. The rest of the plant seems okay with the top growth nice and fresh and green so I am not sweating it too much. My Peace leaves looked a little funny, but I think I read on a different thread that their leaves sometimes have a "puckered" look to them at first, so I think she is okay, too. Time will tell for both of them, I guess. My question: I think I know where I want to have them planted in the ground. They have been growing in the pots since March 28th, when I last checked this thread. If I now plant them in the ground, would I be risking stressing them or their roots (which I am hooping are growing!). I am pretty good at getting stuff in the ground w/o disturbing roots too much if need be. Do I have to wait till fall? Or, since we have had such a cool, mild spring and just had a good rain, is it possible that I could transplant them now? I know nursery plants in pots start as bare root, but I am not sure how much of a root system they would have in comparison to my non-greenhouse grown potted bare roots. I'm sure mine have fewer roots, so would I be doing a bad thing to try and put them in the ground now?
...See More
Carefree vs Knock outs? Carpet rose question
Q
Comments (2)
I am not sure the question? Are you asking if the carpet roses are as good as Knockout? Or are you asking is Carefree Sunshine as good as Knockout? If you are asking about carpet roses, the answer in the south would (for me) would be far different from Knockout. Carpet roses tend to have cercepspora, anthracnose, blackspot, botrytis blight, grow in a strange way like half-bush and half-creeper, wanna-be-climber, but ground halfcover. Knockout grows like a shrub, no disease, no deadheading. If you are asking about Carefree Sunshine versus Knockout, then that is different. Carefree Sunshine is as healthy and carefree as Knockout. The yellow roses just keep coming day after day and though I have never seen any blackspot or other diseases with them, they have a more natural look than Knockout, in that their foliage is so apple green (as opposed to the dark emerald of Knockout) and blends perfectly with the sweet little yellow sunshiny flowers with the pretty reddish-orange eyelashes.
...See More
rosesnpots
15 years ago
Pros - What Karl said.

Cons -
Boring to look at - each one looks the same no matter what color they are.
Around here, they all have a spindly look about them.

To me varity is the spice of life and in reality, if you select the correct roses for your area as I do, OGRs, Austins, Beales , etc roses are no harder to care for.
catsrose
15 years ago
They are the fast food of the rose world, pluses and minuses.
gypsysunrise
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you to all who responded! I had seen them at Lowes, and liked how they had so many blooms at once. I bought one that was on a clearance rack, "Rosa RADrazz", and then after looking them up online, noticed a lot of people didn't seem to care for them...so I wondered. lol
It makes sense to me, now... Anything that is overdone can get boring. =)
Jean Marion (z6a Idaho)
15 years ago
I think if you have them as part of an overall main scheme, using them as a splash of color in with lots of other roses and flowers that they are great...

I also think they are great for folks who want to think that they are growing roses if those are the only roses they have... in my mind they are no different than azaleas and that type of bush except that they bloom longer...

Plant them and enjoy them and get some more different types of roses to put around them... Hopefully you will love the blinding bright color!
diane_nj 6b/7a
15 years ago
If they get people who are rose-phobic to try roses, then I am for them. And if they get people who try them to continue to learn more about roses, then I am for them.

I happen to prefer Blushing Knock Out. I find Knock Out and Pink Knock Out (and the "Double" versions of each) to be too bright.

RADrazz is the registered name for the original Knock Out.

If you want a true red, get Home Run.

Knock Out Roses - Pros/Cons?

Comments (7)

dublinbay z6 (KS)

Maryl (Okla. Zone 7a)

Related Discussions

rosesnpots

catsrose

gypsysunrise
Original Author

Jean Marion (z6a Idaho)

diane_nj 6b/7a

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Knock Out Roses - Pros/Cons?

Comments (7)

dublinbay z6 (KS)

Maryl (Okla. Zone 7a)

Related Discussions

rosesnpots

catsrose

gypsysunriseOriginal Author

Jean Marion (z6a Idaho)

diane_nj 6b/7a

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

gypsysunrise
Original Author