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Knockout vs Double Knockout?

16 years ago

I would like to plant a red knockout rose hedge behind my house. The problem is, I can't make up my mind whether to get Knockout or Double Knockout roses for this. In my mind DKO has prettier blooms than KO, but they are also much smaller, so I wonder which is more showy for mass planting.

I am also under the assumption that both KO and DKO are equally hardy, disease-resistant and have very similar height and growing habits, or am I wrong?

So, which do you think I should get? :)

Thanks for any inputs!

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Comments (7)

brandyray
16 years ago
Glad you posted this. I am considering HomeRun and it is supposed to be as healthy as the Knockouts, it is also red, in case you are interested. Brandy
coltensdad
16 years ago
i have about 20 KOs. i planted most of them last year (spring 2006) and now they are all huge. they are so big that i have trouble keeping them looking good. it takes a long time to dead head a bush that is 4 ft tall 4ft in diameter. i just severly pruned them saturday and i literally hauled off a pickup load of cuttings. next time i prune i am going to try a gas powered hedge trimmer. the KOs seem pretty indestructable.

i like the homerun rose better than the KO. i have 5 HRs and they are not as big as the KOs. you could make a hedge out of the HR but you would probably want to plant them closer together than the KOs. very cool bloom. blood red with a yellow center.

the DKOs have a much prettier bloom than the KOs. they are very hardy...i have proof of this by having successfully rooted 9 out of 10 cuttings. and they made it through the hottest august that i can remember here in mississippi. so next spring i can tell you more about the DKOs.

all this is just my 2 cents. if i had to pick a favorite; i'd say DKO, then HR, with KO being last.
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My next door neighbor's Knock Out is about 4-5 fttall and 3.5-4 ft wide, whereas my Double Knock Outs are, at best, 3x2.5. Of course, my KOs are a couple years younger than my neighbor's, but I don't ever remember her KO spending much time at all in the smaller ranges. It grew up very quickly--so I conclude KO is an inherently taller and wider bush. However, as momcat51 noted, the KO's don't seem to mind being cut back considerably, so if you don't mind having to make periodic prunings, go with the form you like the best. Kate
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I thought maybe there was a reason why it got leggy already. I've heard high nitrogen fertilizer or even hard clay soil can cause those problems...Besides not enough sun...And winterkilled canes that were never pruned out...Rose bush itself not growing right...etc.... I have 7 Double Ko's and 5 are nice and bushy but two of them grew more lanky and runty so I replaced those two this year... (they were 3 years going on 4 same as our other ones came from same vendor and they got plenty of sun and were in good locations...) I transplanted them elsewhere this past late March so they can be runty if they wish now...lol But yes prune them back and see if that corrects the problem... Hopefully it does :)
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Yes, they will be viable when they are ripe. That takes between 90 and 120 days and the hips should turn orange, yellow or red in color. As for what they might look like, who knows! A lot may look very similar to your KO but they could also look like any of the roses that went into the breeding of your KO. That is very complicated but you can see the line here. http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.24139
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From what I understand, sterile butterfly bushes such as that one will produce new flower spikes without deadheading (hence the advertisement "no need to deadhead"). Non sterile butterfly bushes require spent flower spikes to be deadheaded before seed set to promote vigorous rebloom. In both cases you end up with the spent flowers on the shrub unless you cut them off, which in my opinion can look shabby. Knockout roses are similarly advertised as needing "no deadheading", for the same reason outlined above, but the spent flowers look similarly shabby, which I suspect is what the OP was mentioning - and trying to avoid.
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sandy808
16 years ago
You might need a chain saw instead of a hedge trimmer. I am not kidding!

Keep in mind that Knockout has some pretty lethal thorns. They can shred thick leather gloves.

If you have more than a few, it can be very hard to keep up with grooming them. They are disease resistant, but they ARE NOT disease or pest free.

Both regular Knockout and Double Knockout have their own charm. Double Knockout has prettier blooms, in my opinion, and they are brighter.

I once had 53 regular Knockouts and currently have 3 Double Knockouts. ALL the regular Knockouts have been removed and replaced with various china and tea roses. One of my mass plantings now consists of Archduke Charles. He is wonderful, and his thorns are reasonable. He is also much more disease and pest free. I don't know if you live in an area where you can grow china roses, but it is worth checking them out. Last spring (2006) I was badly cut up from pruning Knockouts, despite wearing protection. I mean dangerously cut up.

I have decided to remove the three Double Knockouts near my walkway. They are somewhat grungy looking and need to be groomed, but I do not want to get near them to take care of them because of the thorns. They also have a stiff habit of growth to them. I just need to make up my mind what to replace them with.

sandy
ladylotus
16 years ago
Brandyray, I have HomeRun and love it. I got it last year, it came through winter fine and has bloomed throughout the entire gardening season. I don't recall it ever taking a break. It did not get blackspot or mildew and is a great little rose.
brandyray
16 years ago
Thank you, coltensdad and ladylotus for your feedback about HR. I want it as part of a foundation planting w/ hollies, so it needs to be sturdy. I thought it would brighten up my bed- red blooms in the summer and red berries in the winter. Brandy
blan
Original Author
16 years ago
Boy am I glad that I started this post! I definitely do not want them to grow bigger and wider than ~3ft because the hedge is next to the patio where we often hang out. Those thorns sound pretty lethal and I would be worried if I let my son or dog go near them!

I'd already placed my order which was supposed to be shiped on the 20th, and I just cancelled it (J&P). Thanks again for the replies! I need to rethink what roses I should get for the hedge. Does anyone have pictures of home runs as a hedge?
barb_in_dc
16 years ago
For me the difference is that Double Knockout really needs to be deadheaded to look good. Not so with the original. Man! I love these care-free roses.

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