Hi...I'm in Newbury and can vouch for these guys. They are very carefree with no diseases and beetles didn't seem to bother them... but that may have been because where I have them. My beetles are very specific to ONE area of my yard, lol. I have both the original single KO's and now the doubles since spring....all in pink.

The very nice thing about the KO's is the profuse bloom withOUT any deadheading! You can if you want (and I do normally) but they keep on pumping out the blooms without any.

They are a bit behind my other roses as to when they bloom. All my others are in bloom as of last week but the KO's are still in bud form....maybe 2 weeks behind?

I wouldn't hedge any bets that the beetles will leave them alone. They will eat any rose once they "discover" it.

PS: I use one beetle trap in the spruces where they seem to hover. It works well...you don't want to put it within 40' or so of whatever you want to protect. And watch the wind direction too...that matters. It will catch about a hundred in one week.

The beetles devour my knockouts - - they seem to be the new favorite beetle snack in my yard. The good thing is, the knockouts keep right on growing and blooming right through the attack. Also, I can get most of the bugs in my yard by just pulling them off those three roses - - that's where they congregate.

I have single reds (the original), and they have been blooming for about 2 weeks now. They are simple and easy - - I just feed them rose food about 1x per month.

Re: the beetle traps - - my front yard is only about 35 feet from the front door to the road. Any suggestions re: beetle traps? I am also trying something new this year - - surrounding my roses with annual geraniums. I read that the geraniums "stun" the beetles and then they fall to the ground, making them easy to collect. Anyone tried this?

I am rather disappointed in my Knock Out. It died completely back to the ground over the winter and has been sending up green shoots in just the last two weeks.

My rugosas, on the other hand are blooming even though I cut them all the way back to the ground this spring (I do that every couple of years to "prune" and keep them in check). Don't have any other roses to compare them to yet - next year will be a different story.

HOWEVER - I do like that they bloomed fairly well last summer even though they are in a bit of shade.

I wouldn't be without a double knockout even if I have to grow it as an annual. Mine bloomed profusely from late May to October last year. It only took a small break for a few weeks early July to put out new red growth. The best part of that was that the JBs didn't seem to like the red growth. We were hit so hard with JBs last year that they skeletonized maples and hydrangeas which they never really touched in the past. They just didn't happen to like the KO's new red leaves.

The color of the blooms works well with Maiden Pinks Dianthus and lavender. The shape of the blooms is lovely. I don't care for the outher KO's. Double is much prettier!

The only problem I had, and this is a big one, is that it over winters horribly. I lightly protected it, and it was ravaged with canker by spring. =( None of my other roses suffered anything like that though some were wrapped/covered much heavier than KO. I'll try not protecting it this winter, but I suspect it will just die all the way back to the ground.

I don't like to spend a lot of money on plants, but I don't have a problem with the idea of shelling out $25 every May for a new DBL KO. I think the plant is worth it.

Good luck!

Do knockouts only come in red? It looks great, I'm just more of a fan of pink, and think this color might overwhelm my paler roses (New Dawn, Fairy, and Bonica). I'm sure I can find a spot for it ... love roses and hate to use fungicides.

Yes, there is a Pink Knock Out and a Blushing Knock Out (very soft-peachy pink)

Diggin....mine are all shades of pink with the 6 latest ones being Pink Double KO's. In fact, Lowes had 1 gallon and 2 gallon Pinks (singles) for $10 last month....you might check that out. Easy, easy rose and does live up to the claims! I have 10.

Ooh. Must have some of these. It will require a new bed, I think ... there's just no room anywhere. Thanks for the tip I'd never really thought much about these newfangled roses. I'll keep my eyes open for a local source - pretty sure Mahoneys will have them, but maybe some of the smaller nurseries will too.

Lots of colors to choose from--I have seen the red and the pink doubles at many garden ceters and also a new pink with a yellow center-I think that one is a single though. I have not seen any whites-that would be my first choice. My HD had the single KO, but they looked so poorly kept compared to the ones at the garden centers etc. that I will spend the $ and hope to get 2 healthy ones. This year will be my experiment-I'll see how they do before I decide to plant the entire length of the border.