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Questions about Knock Out Roses

7 years ago

Recently planted 4 bushes. When should I prune them? Should I cut off the dead roses? Any other suggestions would be helpful.

Featured Answer

Adrianne

7 years ago

Typically you prune in late winter/ early spring. As Paul Zimmerman would say, when the forsythia blooms.

When I had knockouts I liked to keep them compact, so I pruned after every flush. And then really hard in the early spring. Here in the south, it would be late February. Not sure where you are located, but the forsythia rule is a good one.

Whether you cut the spent blooms is up to you. I like neat, so I deadhead a lot.

It's really just what you want to/ are willing to do. Knockouts are carefree by nature. You can always just do the winter prune and not worry about the rest

:-)

adrianne

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Comments (9)

PRO
Star® Roses and Plants
7 years ago
Hi Rose! You should prune your Knock Out® Roses in the spring, after the last threat of frost has passed. Knock Out® Roses will re-bloom every 5-6 weeks
regardless of deadheading. Deadheading does offer a cleaner, tidier
look. You can visit our website for other FAQs and gardening information: http://www.starrosesandplants.com/
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A grouping does look good. I'd plant them into the garden now so the roots can get established. Even the hardiest roses can die the first winter if the roots have not had an opportunity to grow into the surrounding soil. August is a really hot dry time to transplant a potted rose. Unless you water regularly and deep you could lose them especially if the soil falls from the roots when you transplant. Nature size and planting distance is determined by your growing zone. Pruning can be easy. After each flush of bloom, allow the flowers to fade some. Use a pair of hedge clippers and remove the dead blooms along with a inch or so of cane to shape the bush. In a few weeks new buds will form along with new growth. You'll have more flowers within a month. Yearly pruning should be done in spring. Remove winter killed canes and dieback along with any damaged ones. Cut back as far as you want to shape the bush and keep it in bounds. As much as many rosarians complain about Knock Out being the only roses available in many garden centers, their ease of growing and hardiness encourages many to grow roses again. The desire to grow roses soon entices them to try other varieties.
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While the concept of delivering the water to the soil is good there simply is not much out there to do that, most all water delivery systems spray water and many people need to deliver water over very large areas and spays are just the best way to do that. If I were to spend a lot of money to have an irrigation pump and delivery system installed I might be able to design someway to use something other than sprinklers, but there is no way I have that much money to spend. I know many people that did spend lots of money on an inground watering system and they also now spend a fair amount of money twice a year on maintaining that system. So my roses get sprayed from overhead and do not have any real problems from that. The only time I have seen Black Spot here in my gardens, once I got the soil built up into a good, healthy soil, is when I bring in a new rose form the garden center. Provide a soil well endowed with organic matter that is evenly moist but well drained and mulch well so the soil stays cool and moist and "weed" growth is suppressed and you will have fewer problems.
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Jessica you will probably get a variety of answers so I suggest reading some to find what you think is the best answer for you. Locally Extensions services based on info from Texas A&M agricultural research says you can replant in 10-14 days. RRD is carried by a mite that will vacate a rose once it starts to die. If you have gotten all the roots out then you can replant. Since the mites blow in the wind and can be carried a long way you may or may not have damage to other roses in your yard. If you had any diseased KO that had canes touching other roses and you didn't take them out you should watch the other roses for disease very carefully. In addition to the mites blowing in the wind they walk from cane to cane.
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Chris, follow the great advice on here. I too transplanted a knockout a couple of years ago and it has never really recovered to what it was before. I think it preferred the sunnier spot where I had it before it was moved. Even then, it would pretty much lose all of its leaves in the summer when it just was too hot outside. I think you will be able to save it. Just shade it a bit and give it some water. It should recover.
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jacqueline9CA
7 years ago
Rose, IT DEPENDS WHERE YOU ARE! The two posters above have assumed that you have cold winters (and that forsythia grows where you garden!). While this may be true, it also may not be true. We prune here in zone 9 Northern CA in the Fall, not the Spring, because we have mild (as in practically no frost) winters, but they are rainy (and forsythia does not grow here!). So, where are you, approximately?

Jackie
summersrhythm_z6a
7 years ago
I deadhead Knockout roses (cut off spent blooms), they repeat faster if you do so.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
7 years ago
The second poster is assuming mild winters. Recommending pruning (or planting) after all danger of frost is too late in places with real winter. Forsythia blooms here about two months before out last frost date.
jacqueline9CA
7 years ago
My point is that no one should be assuming anything, since we have no idea at all where in the world Rose Smith is gardening. I understand that it is normal to just assume that whatever happens in your garden is "typical", but that is not the case. I hope she tells us so we can be of assistance.

Jackie
Labradors
7 years ago
I learn something every day. Who knew there were places where Forsythia doesn't grow? {LOL} and how an earth do you know when to apply Preen?

Linda
jacqueline9CA
7 years ago
Our roses never go dormant. We prune anytime from Nov to the end of Jan (which is a little late here, actually - I hate cutting off buds!). I always apply time release food when I prune. We plant new roses (or any other plant) in late Oct or Nov, when hopefully the winter rains have started, and will help them get established until May, when our normal 6 month drought starts (as opposed to our recent not normal 10-12 month yearly droughts).

Jackie
jim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
If you want a neater looking bush and alittle faster rebloom then deadhead the spent blooms... But no big deal if you just let it alone as it will still rebloom...

Yes for better answers on other things please let us know your general location... Thanks!

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