I have a Knock Out rose and it gets black spot, but everything in my garden gets black spot, with the exception of Playboy and any rose hybridized by Ping Lim. Rainbow Sorbet, in particular, is resistant to pests and diseases and looks a hundred times better than any Knock Out rose.

Rose (Rosa 'Rainbow Sorbet')

Yes, to be fair, practically all my roses get black spot to some degree. Some just handle it better than the others and manage not to be leafless.

Are there roses resistant to rose rosette disease? We are having major problems with that in this area. I've had to remove 4 roses already this year.

No, I don't think there are.

Don't have enough humidity for blackspot, so I'm no help there. But I noticed that Knockouts are more expensive this year. Wonder why, considering they're mass produced by the gazillions.

I live in a very humid area and have never had any problems with the Knockout Roses. Them seem to be completely maintenance free! I was getting ready to order these pink ones. :hearts :Jackson and Perkins has them listed under disease resistant roses.

http://www.jacksonandperkins.c...


Has anyone tried the 'Livin' Easy' or the Rose Rainbow Knock Out® Shrub http://www.jacksonandperkins.c...

I found one Easy does it shrub and it is a little expensive but I still might get it after I look around a little more.

http://www.soonerplantfarm.com...

Jackson and Perkins has them listed under disease resistant roses.

http://www.jacksonandperkins.c...

I have Easy Does It & I think I have Livin' Easy. But don't order from J&P. Trust me, you'll regret it. Try to find them at a LGS first. Roses Unlimited (www.rosesunlimitedownroot.com) has them both, but does not have the Rainbow Knock Out. Or you can probably wait til Sept & get them from Palatine Roses. Those are my two places to look to order roses.

Knock Out roses can be found for $5 here. This must be the perfect climate for them--they don't get too big, and they don't get any disease. Every store has them, and I mean every store. Groceries, gas stations, nurseries, walmarts, farmers markets. I bought more at Lowes last week for 4.50 in 1 gallon pots. I'm trying to put together a photo parade so you can see how well they do. I have every kind of them....Rainbow is especially pretty this year.

They arrived here almost 4 years ago and they were $39.99! Yikes! I decided to order a small one from Michigan Bulb, they had them for $4.99 and I got a few other things. When it arrived it was in a 3 inch pot and was just a stick that was 3 inches tall. Whoa!! My goodness, what is this?? A shrub??

I will just wait and try another website like 'Palatine Roses'! (Thank you Toni!)

I'll be very, very surprised if Palatine carries Knock Out roses, but stranger things have happened, I guess.

I might have to change my mind. I found out there is a deadly disease out there, and it kills roses! Can Anything Stop Rose Rosette?

http://thedailysouth.southernl...

Nope.
http://www.ars.org/?page_id=32...

Susan - Why would you not get roses based on one disease? Just don't buy the roses that are very prone to it (like knock outs). We all have roses here & we all have that worry about RRD, but that doesn't stop us. You just gotta keep trying!! I'm gonna honestly say that I've never had a single rose w/RRD, nor have I even seen one with it. Maybe I'm just lucky & it's not in my area (yet)?

In your area it isn"t a problem, but here and where Susan lives, it is a huge problem. Roses are very difficult to remove with all those thorns. There are just too many negatives in them for me now. This disease spreads rapidly. It is far worse than people realize. If you ever encounter this in your garden, you will really change your mind about roses. They also attract Japanese Beetles here, which is another nightmare. I wish there was a cure for this, but I have seen beautiful roses destroyed in such a short amount of time! They also get many many extra thorns when infected which makes them even worse to remove.

Thanks Toni! I will enjoy them while I can. I am not even sure I have room for any more. I would like more though!

Clint, good advice. I removed a couple that were not doing well because of black spot some seem to be more trouble than they are worth. I am not shy about ripping things out by their throat. I pruned the roses all the way down to a stump and then dug them up. I have noticed over the years that we get more and more Japanese Beetles but they are not a real problem (yet). I noticed at work one day when I was eating in my car that the finches eat these and I do have a lot of finches. I wonder if that is why I do not have a big problem?

I've seen that too. Goldfinches are my favorites!

Lowes and HD have Knockouts overload and they want 40.00 for them in gallon pots. I have never seen them so expensive.

I have sunny yellow and love it. Because it is fragrant and can be smelled from a distance. The other rose in this category is Carpet Rose. I have Carpet Rose Amber that is a very pretty orange peach color. These bloom and are great in a perennial garden for blooms ,8
all Summer.

Sunny Knockout didn't smell good to me. Smell a Don Juan rose and then smell Sunny Knockout. It barely has a fragrance at all. It's not so Sunny either. The blooms only stay yellow for a very short while and then they rapidly turn a dirty white color and shed all over the place.

I saw Knock Outs @ Walmart last night.. 2.5gal pots for $17

HD has the Carpet Rose, which are OK, but not cold hardy for me (I got 2 itty bitties last year for $5/ea on clearance.. one survived, the other didn't). The Drift roses seem to be all the rage this year.