Don Juan or Knock Out?

13 years ago

Anyone in South Florida growing Don Juan Rose? Curious as to how much success anyone has had?

Also, how "great" (pest free, drought tolerant) are these Knock Out roses? Looking for some color for front of house that gets sun until about 2 pm. The area seems really sand as well. Would it be best to amend with manure etc before planting?

Thanks.

botanical_drfiter

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Comments (9)

amberroses
13 years ago
I vote for Don Juan. It does get blackspot but it is so wonderfully pretty and fragrant. It always bounces back. Try to get it on fortuniana rootstock. Knock Outs, yawn, I've tried the blushing pink, the rainbow, and the yellow. The blushing pink and rainbow were never very healthy and the chilli thrips loved them.
olyagrove
13 years ago
Don Juan. Beautiful strong rose, fragrant and healthy. Mine might or might not be on fortuniana, but grows in well amended soil.
KO is OK. I have some that do great and some that do not. A good rose, and I agree with Amber, a thrip magnet. Don Juan is just better :)

Amend the soil as much as you can. I ended up removing a whole lot of soil and replacing it with compost. Worth it, in a long run.

And you have a lot of roses to choose from for Florida.
My Don Juan is doing great.
Belinda's Dream is fantastic.
Mutabilis -- big girl!
Old Blush - very happy rose
Souvenir de la Malmaison - so pretty
Louis Philippe - a magnificent rose
David Austin English Rose 'Christopher Marlowe' - honestly, a healthy rose!
David Austin Rose "Pat Austin" -- love this rose (and I do not care for apricots and oranges usually)

And I recently bought these from Chamblees - did my homework and happy with them:
Peggy Martin
Mrs. B.R. Cant
L D Braithwaite
Maggie
Burgundy Iceberg (Icebergs do well for me and I already have one Burgundy)
Monsieur Tillier

So, lots to choose from!
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Yes, as michaelg says, it does vary with a lot of factors, but in a similar spot in your garden you should be able to detect if it is a mislabeled rose. You could always make a cutting from your old DJ, it's the right time of year too ;-) I have had roses go from pale white with a few specs of purple to deep purple in all petals just by adding seashells and seaweed to the soil. It was a gallica and it was given regular organic fertilizer with micronutrients, so it was a bit surprising. My point is major nutrient deficiencies can be a factor too.
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The reason I was turned on to this forum many years ago was a similar problem. I'm not so quick to jump on the RMV band-wagon. Here's a question for you: Have you sprayed any form of herbicide recently around the area that the roses reside? If so, you might be dealing with a very common problem with people who spray for weeds. The good news is that the plant will eventualy come around, although the affected areas will continue to display this mutated leaf growth with deformed rose buds. It often takes several weeks, if not months, for the plant to recover. I had this problem once with a Gertrude Jeckly (sp?) and it turned out to be one of my largest rose bushes ever. Most "experts" in my rose society told me to pitch it and shovel prune it, but I loved the scent so I watered generously daily and fertilized the bush with Alphalpha pellets to stimulate new basal breaks and the bush pulled through. A picture of the affected area might help others prognose the problem better. Good luck! Adrian.
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Comments (1)
I'd leave him where he is and transplant in spring. He'll need any feeder roots he's developed this season. Besides, transplanting is stressful on a plant. This stress is not good for a bush about to enter winter.
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don Juan.. not so much?
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Comments (7)
I thought about it, but this was a body bag that I picked up out of guilt , never known big lots to carry anything but supposed climbers atleast my local one.... It's the only one that survived. I have pink , blush, and red knockouts ...I've never noticed the strong fragrance that this has... And side by side the two are markedly different colors... In person this rose is almost magenta , a deep dark pink . Seil I was waiting for you ...I was hoping you were gonna give me the definitive answer like u always do! ;-) This is why I stick the ARE... sometimes even they send me a mix up. Oh well if it's hardy I'll keep it.
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gatormomx2
13 years ago
I have Monsieur Tiller grown from a cutting.
The blooms are stunning.
Very different from others.
I was told this rose would get big.
So far, mine is young and very small.
I am very pleased with MT!
olyagrove
13 years ago
My Monsieur Tillier is still a small rose, but I agree, the flowers are stunning...such beautiful color!!
sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
13 years ago
Where is a good place to buy roses on fortuniana rootstock? Do the roses at HD etc have the type of rootstock written on the package of the rose? What kind of rootstock are the Jackson and Perkns roses on? I've never thought to look.
amberroses
13 years ago
HD and Lowes sometimes have fortuniana rootstock and sometimes not. It should actually have a label on the rose if it is fortuniana. Jackson and Perkins is also sometimes on fortuniana and sometimes not. This is not always true, but fortuniana grafts are usually higher off the ground for some reason so you can see the actual graft.
drudadunat
13 years ago
I have grown Don Juan with great success. It does need spraying, but it is worth it for the beautiful blooms it gets ... rich, red velvet. I like KOs too, but if I had to choose I would go with Don Juan. It's substantially larger than Knock Outs.

Darlene
User
13 years ago
I've had a Don Juan here for 5 years and in the last place in Tampa for probably 15 years. Love the rich, dark red blooms and fragrance. Black spot can be a problem, though, they have to be tended to. They look great on a sturdy pergola since the canes grow very large, long and strong. I need to move mine, it's too close to the house (South side) and in the summer the top is in the shade too long. Knock-outs - I'm not very thrilled about mine, especially the yellow ones. But we have a big problem with the deer getting to them here. The Don Juan is so huge if they nibble on that it doesn't make that much difference.
wildmutt
12 years ago
Not an expert on roses or climate zones, but having grown up in Miami and then living in Houston for 7 years, I would say that regardless of the "zone 9" label of Houston and the "zone 10b/11" of Miami feel awfully similar.

I had a Knockout, the original bright magenta/red, that grew like gangbusters with benign neglect in an all-day sunny Houston garden. It got to a good 8 ft tall by 6 ft wide when I let it do its thing.

A Climbing Pinky did the same thing. Just about brought my sturdy fence down in its 3rd year.

Our winters were the same as South Florida those years, and the summers were, well, brutal.

I don't recall the other colors of Knockouts being available then (12 years ago) and it is possible the newer colrs are just not as tough?

I would definitely put a Knockout in the ground where you are and see what happens. They are quite thorny,FYI.

I have also seen them grown in Disney World Orlando in part shade in hedges, where they look like azaleas. But nothing at Disney is real, so who knows what's up with that.

Don Juan or Knock Out?

Comments (9)

amberroses

olyagrove

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