Light Pink Knock Out Rose Bush
knock out rose
(Image credit: okimo)

Rose Breeder Bill Radler created the Knock Out rose bush. It was a big hit, too, as it was a 2,000 AARS and smashed the record for sales of a new rose. The Knock Out® rose bush is one of the most popular roses in North America, as it continues to sell very well. Let's look at how to care for Knock Out roses.

Care of Knock Out Roses

Knock Out roses are easy to grow, not requiring much care. They are very disease resistant, too, which adds to their appeal. Their bloom cycle is about every five to six weeks. The Knock Out roses are known as “self-cleaning” roses, so there is no real need to deadhead them. Several Knock Out rose bushes blooming along a fence line or at the edge of an island landscaping is a beautiful sight to behold. Although Knock Out roses are hardy to USDA Zone 5, they will need some winter protection. They are extremely heat tolerant, thus they will do well in the most sunny and hot of locations. When it comes to growing Knock Out roses, they can pretty much be listed as plant them and forget them roses. If they do get a little out of the shape you like for them along your fence line or garden edge, a quick trimming here and there and they are right back to the form you like blooming all the while. If no rose bush forming pruning is done to adjust their height and/or width, the Knock Out roses can reach 3 to 4 feet (1 m.) wide and 3 to 4 feet (1 m.) tall. In some areas, an early spring pruning 12 to 18 inches (31-48 cm.) above the ground works well, while in areas with harder winters they may be pruned down to around 3 inches (8 cm.) above the ground to remove the dieback of the canes. A good early spring pruning is highly recommended to help get the top performance out of these fine shrub rose bushes. When caring for Knock Out roses, feeding them a good organic or chemical granular rose food for their first spring feeding is recommended to get them off to a good start. Foliar feedings from then on until the last feeding of the season works just fine to keep them well-fed, happy, and blooming. Without a doubt, there will be more and more rose bushes added to the Knock Out family of rose bushes as research and development continues. Some of the current family members are:

  • Knock Out Rose
  • Double Knock Out Rose
  • Pink Knock Out Rose
  • Pink Double Knock Out Rose
  • Rainbow Knock Out Rose
  • Blushing Knock Out Rose
  • Sunny Knock Out Rose

Again, the Knock Out line of rose bushes is bred to be a low maintenance and low need for care rose bush.

Stan V. Griep
Writer

Stan V. Griep contributed to Gardening Know How for many years. An American Rose Society Consulting Master Rosarian in the Rocky Mountain District, he served as Gardening Know How's in-house expert on all things roses.