I introduced knockout roses to my garden last year. Wow, what a treat. Okay, here's my problem, something is eating my knockouts. It looks as though some one took scissors and cut the buds off the tops. There is no indication that deers are the culprit. I am in a suburban subdivision and have not seen a deer in my yard the 30 years I have been here. Could they be night visitors? Aside from the nipped buds, my darlings are healthy. I also looked for worms. Although I have lots of rabbits and squirrels, the knockouts are out of their reach because of the height. HELP.

Joanneb, I too am a new gardener, never planted a thing outside in my life, and whaddya know, I started with a tree rose (in March 2009) hahaha! of all things... But really I urge you to take the advice of DublinBay and Mad_Gallica...Really reconsider whether you want to have so many KOs... In my opinion there are sooooo many more lovelier and just as hardy roses.... I don't like KO because they don't have character in the formation of their petals and shape and they don't have scent...Bees don't particularly seem to care for them either... I see KOs everywhere and if you choose KOs it would be like choosing a landscape that looks like a typical apartment complex...KOs are everywhere, on every single sign, even fast food restaurants have KOs outside, every apartment complex is plastered with them, hotel chains, etc. etc. I too as a newbie did too many same kind of roses. Two Special Occasion roses, 2 Lincolns, 2 Sutter's Gold... And I guarantee, once you get hooked on roses you will wish you had far more than just one kind... Roses are like MAGIC... there are so many prolific bloomers like KO but with much more loveliness and all kinds of color...For me the magic is also fragrance, so I say take your time and best! of all just like everyone says, visit a real rose garden...Stupid me didn't do that, so I've got too many same kinds even though I love them all except for boring Queen Elizabeth with zilch fragrance (when I first started roses as a newbie and didn't know any better)...It's just that now I've discovered so many more roses and because I only have very limited space, I am indeed "stuck" with what I originally selected.

Rose growing and Minnesota is a lot of trial and error for each of us- I've killed more than have lived but I'm stubborn (or stupid). I planted tender hybrid teas (15)last year and asked a similar question to yours..Jan (Dentaybow)posted a link for the Far North forum and some of their methods of rose protection. I tried one that amounted to planting the bud union 4 inches below soil level- then in the fall mound with 18 inches of soil and cover with another foot or so of mulch and cover with a tarp for winter. The key was that the whole entire bed was done this way, amounting to more than 2 feet of protective covering and complete surrounding for the roses in the center of the bed. I used raked leaves.I planned the bed to be rose-only with winter protection in mind. They all had dieback but only 3 died- some on the outside were "one-cane wonders" until I took mercy and shovel pruned them. I have Mordens and other hardy roses that I didn't do anything to- some years they dieback to the soil but then send up new shoots, don't be too hasty in writing them off in the spring. The climbing Blaze? I would wrap in burlap and bend them over and cover with some kind of mulch in my yard but like I said, it's trial and error...and hard work, sigh.

I have the same problem. leaves are yellow with green veins and I have read it can be related to iron deficiency. These are new plants from the nursery. I've had them about a month and they are in the same plastic containers they came in. (I am on a terrace and have to use containers). They are developed by the same company that sells Knock-outs but they are called "Drift" ground cover. After I got them I started to notice white mildew around the base of flower buds (they also had a couple of caterpillars that I got rid of) (I know, great nursery huh?) so I used Bayer All-In-One. Now all the flowers have died off and there is a lot of new growth but it all looks like the photos.