Hi Elaine, thanks for the info, I will keep it in mind. I light pruned my knock out rose but heavy pruned my 7- year old big fragrant hot pink rose (almost to the ground) because it was not producing blooms anymore. I timed it with our rainy season and now it is starting to come back.

Susan, the pic was of 'Easy Does It'.
If you don't have it, you need to move it to the top of your "to buy" list.
I believe Chamblee carries it. It earned the AARS top award last year.

Easy Does It is pretty common in nurseries, too. It's a beautiful rose and I don't really care for apricot roses.

Are they disease resistant? Sure are pretty. ..Yes!!..Chamblee does have it! And it is disease resistant!

It's resistant to black spot here but not rose rosette disease.

As far as Rosette disease goes, this is what I read,

"Rose rosette disease is a viral rose disease spread by a tiny insect. The virus is specific to roses with Rosa multiflora being its primary host. Symptoms and treatment of rose rosette disease."
http://www.botanical-journeys-...

How can I find out which roses have multiflora in them? I found a distribution map and there are none in Va.
http://www.botanical-journeys-...

" insecticidal soap or horticultural oil sprays weekly during the summer months to control the mites that spread rose rosette."
http://www.botanical-journeys-...

The disease has spread to other roses. Here's an article about it being in the state of Virginia. There is no cure. I wouldn't buy or plant any roses until this disease is under control. It is amazing how quickly it sptreads.

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/450/450...

Easy Does It has had great disease resistance for me, and here in FL, that is saying something! We have every fungal spore known to man floating around here all year 'round. The Knock Outs have done well on this, too. Have not heard anything about Rose Rosette disease.

The score isn't in yet as to whether the nematodes will take their toll or not. Like the Knock Out series, it's an 'own root' rose. To be nematode resistant here, most roses are grafted onto a Fortuniana root stock. Some of my Sunny Knock Outs are 3 years old, and so far are doing fine.

Gigi, if your big rose that was declining doesn't come back really well, I'd dig it up and check the roots for root knots from nematodes. Then if that's the problem, you can buy the same variety but make sure it is grafted onto Fortuniana. Most good nurseries carry them, and lately I've seen them at HD and Lowe's sometimes. They're in blue pots, and somewhat more expensive than the regular roses. But so worth it, if they last more than a couple of years.

Good luck with that Elaine, if you do need eriophyid mite control,The insecticide Avid is registered for control of both eriophyid and spider mites on roses.

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/450/450...

Amazon has it on sale for $244.88 per quart. . https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004A9T15M/

I read that one species is resistant to the disease and that is the native species Rosa setigera, I think it is a vine but it's very pretty.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004A9T15M/

Haven't had a single problem with mites on my roses here, Susan. I think they like the brugmansias so well they ignore everything else.

Holy cow, $250 per quart for Avid? Ain't happening here. I'll stick with my soapy water/Neem oil mixture and be happy with marginal control of the little you-know-whats.

.Thanks Elaine!

here's mine on the 4th of July last year when you all were wrapping up this thread...



it's a completely fool-proof, almost continuously blooming shrub for me. passé as it may be, I have plenty of eccentricity on display all over the yard and I don't mind having a few things that just look good for a little balance

It looks great, DD. I can only repeat my opinion that the Knock Out roses make great landscape shrubs. If they offend the rose lover's soul in any gardener, he or she should just regard a Knock Out rose as a reliably reblooming shrub.

The only reason I fight to have roses is for the scent, and my understanding is that the Knock Outs don't have much, if any, fragrance. But that one certainly is pretty. And, where is it that you live, so I can come steal that rock?

Not much perfume on the pink or red Knock-outs, but the yellow Sunny Knock Out actually has a nice fragrance. Nothing to write home about, but enough that if you smelled it with your eyes closed, you'd know it was a rose.

Wow, I realize this is the rose forum but I was truly surprised to see this thread and all the dislike of this trooper of a rose. You mostly can't go wrong with them. And not everyone is a great gardener with a green thumb. Most people simply want a lot of easy no care color in the garden.

Woofie--That rock is not going anywhere, but I'd love to see you try! If you could even move it just a little bit off the driveway, that would really help out a lot
Correct--no scent.
I'm certainly too ignorant to be much of a rose-snob, and yet even my soul is a bit offended by their lack of rose-ness, so I second the notion to view them as blooming thorny shrubs.
I got 3 for $10 when I first moved here (side of a mtn in Utah) because I knew they would 'work' for me while I struggled to learn how to grow things in this place. They are resilient little buggers and don't require a fight. The other two are up on a wall on the other side of the driveway, in bad clay, buried in the shade of a huge tree all day until they get a bit of scorching in the late afternoon.

I fight to have other roses for scent and I also have many other plants that help me to know that I'm not in any danger of having someone mistake my place for a dentist's office.

It must be working!! Dentist Office never entered my mind nor do I have the urge to make an appointment.

I love your rock and it is a great back drop for the beautiful shrub rose.

These Knockout Roses came to Virginia about 7 years ago, not long after we moved into this house. I wanted one real bad but they were 39.95 for a trade gallon. Yikes, it was not happening. I found a small one at Michigan Bulb Co. for 4.99 and I ordered it. I was a little shocked when it arrived in a 3 inch pot. LOL. They grow fast!!

Wow! That started as a 3" pot? Amazing!

Yes!!

I got a few white ones from Greatgardenplants.com I do not recommend this company nor Michigan Bulb. They have gotten better but I am not ready to do a recommendation. LOL. Live and learn.


This is WHITE-OUT.