I had one of these and was always attracted to the deep red of the blossoms. Alas, mine was also an impulse buy and I put it in less than an optimal place...would be a good carefree no sprays rose for a place close to your veggies.

Eric

I like the color much better than KO. And my brother bought one to plant in the empty lot next to his house, it looked very nice the last time I was there, and if anyone would be a "no care gardener" it would be him.

Do not care about a rose being common or not, ancient or new, precious or not: do you like it? can you grow it in your climate? if both answers are "yes", then go for it.

The KO has the advantage of being very healthy and a very generous bloomer, it's a good rose after all to give some splash of color. Personally, it gives me joy to see here and there in my garden that flashy red color.
I bet a KO rose would look nice near some red tomatoes or some black aubergine.

Now you are getting to my gripe with the Knock Out series. While they are very disease resistant, they are not easy care here because they have definitely winter problems. I've seen many disappear after winter, and the ones that don't need good care to rebound. These are not roses for 'difficult' situations.

I agree with Gallica, but at the other extreme. My Knockouts and my Home Runs are truly struggling in our insane heat...it is 80 degrees when we wake up in the early morning, and 100 or more at midday. These roses are defoliating, and they are not blooming. (Amazingly, many of the hybrid teas are valiantly persevering.) They are sprayed and watered, so temperature stress and grasshoppers are clearly the dual problem. Not so care-free after all.
Laura

I really like 'homerun'- much better than it's 'knockout' parent. It is more of a true red than knockout and has been totally carefree. My plant seems more compact than knockout. Grasshoppers are bad this year- they are even eating my palm leaves!

I have two of them and I love them. I agree, they are much nicer than knockouts.

Ok, it was an impulse, but not before talking to the good guy at AGway about placement, winter. I usually don't winter protect anybody that is in the ground. Pots go into the Famous Ditch under leaves. Home Run will most likely move into a bigger pot than the big one it is in now - I have some that my soninlaw has to move for me, once filled with soil and plant. After the winter in the Ditch it will get planted right by the gate to the vegetable garden. It will have a fence to its back. That way, when I am putting the garden to bed in fall '10, I will easily be able to give it a quick leaf cover, held in place by some wire mesh bent into to the fence. Back when I tried some floribundas and hybrid teas, late 80's, that is how my husband and I protected them and it seemed to work.

I prefer Home Run over KO. HR is a better bloomer and more winterhardy than KO for me.

I think Home Run is a nice looking plant, I don't have it but have seen it around and the red blooms are very striking and eyecatching.

prairielaura - the three knockouts that I have, which are planted in less than optimal situations are doing great! They are contiuously blooming and not having any trouble with the foliage. I know it's just as hot here.....go figure!

Lynn

Lynn, how old are yours? This is the first summer in the ground for mine, and if they don't toughen up by next summer I'm going to have to give up on them. However, we are about to put in a sprinkler system, so maybe that will save some of my weaker plants around the yard...no amount of hose watering seems to be enough this year. Some of the stuff that is supposed to be bulletproof (vitex, buddleia) is defoliating and trying to die. Grim.
Laura

Laura, mine are several years old and I have never had any problems with them. I don't care that some people think they are......well, whatever they think they are! Mine just sit there year after year without much attention and just do their thing without complaint (they do get watering along with everything else). But that's my yard and if they don't perform for you within whatever time frame you want to give them, get rid of 'em! (Ha! Give you a chance to get something else! If you're like me, you have a long list of roses you'd like to try!)

I'm not sure where you are in Central Texas, but if you are in that severe drought area, then I think the best you can hope for is to keep stuff alive with your hose (or sprinkler) until it rains (if it ever does). My dad's property, which is between Smithville and Giddings is SO dry; he waters his beds all the time but the surrounding ground is so dry the water just gets sucked away. Grim AND scary!

Don't mean to hijack the Home Run thread!

Lynn

I took the plunge as well and purchased four this year for a small bed around a bird bath. Although they are blooming nicely, and seem to want to set hips readily, they seem slow to add growth. I'm not a fan of the knockout series, but I love the blooms on the HR.