Yeah, mine were bare-root mail order from somewhere cheap...thankfully a little bigger than a 3" pot stick.
They do grow fast. Still, took a couple years to get respectable, though, but at least they did --unlike some other things that languished and died.

Yes, unlike some things.

Add my name to those who do not like this rose.

My husband succumbed to a sales pitch, by phone, so then it became my job to find a place for them in the rose garden. To me they are simply "background noise" to show off prettier roses and some irises.

I'd like to think of them as Zuzu mentioned, flowering shrubs, but the problem lies in the "rose" name. I want a nice shape, a wonderful scent and "a thing of beauty" but that's not the case with Knock Out Rainbow (times two). If I just moved them to another garden, where I wouldn't be expecting an actual rose, they could be acceptable.

Julia Child deserves more elbow room and Paul McCartney wants to shine on his own without the bridesmaid's ugly dress near him.

They do serve a purpose in the garden. I have a whole bunch of them (including OsoEasy, Drift and etc.) in an area that borders a wild tree line and was previously very ugly. I wonder what a proper name for them would be?

I regard them as a weed.

This has to be the greatest rose thread of all time. I have never seen so many responses!

Sounds like you either love 'em or hate 'em! Don't see too many in-between positions here!

For those that are not so fond of Knock Out, try Home Run. A lovely single red flower. True Red, not sorta red. And it blooms a lot. Supposed to be disease free. I don't know for sure but I think it is. Mine is planted in back of my rose bed I call Florabundaville. I spray Florabundaville so Home Run gets overspray. not that I am trying to spray it on purpose but certainly not going thru any contortions trying to stop any spray from hitting it.

I wish my weeds were able to be controlled like these bushes.

Can we petition to rename them?
I have just returned from my first winterkill recon...it's been a rough season this year...
And the winner is... Rugosa with zero black canes; runner up is that not-rose-bush; the rest are varying degrees of pitiful and I sure hope I haven't completely lost a bunch of them!

"Varying degrees of pitiful" is a good description for my gardens during this harrowing winter weather, but I don't have a single one of those misnamed flowering shrubs, and have only a minuscule number of 'real' roses compared to others. I am, however, enjoying this conversation.

Sharon! I am sure once spring comes your gardens will look glorious.

Things here are still all covered in lots and lots of unmelted snow. And tonight we get more snow.

Heh, I like the "varying degrees of pitiful" as well! Hi Shar!

It was the 'varying degrees . . . ' that grabbed me, though I had been reading all along.
Hi Woofie!

Rita, I can only hope.

This year it REALLY feels like spring will never come but logic tells me it must. And it will be so welcome this year especially. I just love it when the garden wakes up and things start to turn green. The start of life all over again. Spring is my favorite season.

April 21 is "the greening of the trees" around here and I don't have to write it down. I can't help but remember the glorious feeling each year when the trees go green almost overnight.

I have shrubs that wake up extra early like serviceberries and Nanking cherry. Never can remember when the actual trees start to leaf out. As long as I see signs of green it is spring here for me.

Plus the roses usually start to leaf out really early, most years in March but some times in February. Not having a mild winter this year so maybe they will be late this year.

OK ... I've held off posting to this thread for a long time, but I think it's time to share what I know about the breeder and the 'Knock Out' rose. It kind of ties in with other posts I've made about black spot on ATP.

Studies have shown that there are 15 strains of black spot in the world, with 5 of them found in the United States. Roses that have resistance to black spot have one gene in their make up that controls disease resistance to black spot. This is called by the breeders "vertical resistance." Actually, the plant can actually mutate and lose its resistance in your garden as it matures.

KO is really a "break through" rose in a very big way. It is the first rose that has ever been introduced to commerce that has what the breeders call "horizontal resistance" because it has several genes controlling disease resistance to several strains of black spot. Yes, those genes can mutate, too, but it's harder for the rose to lose all of its disease resistance to black spot.

Often a "break through" rose is not loved by most gardeners because it doesn't have all of the characteristics or bloom form that gardeners are looking for in a rose for their gardens. However, if that rose is used in breeding programs by other breeders it can be the beginning of a whole new line of roses.

To me, I don't like the rose and want it for my garden, but I really do admire the possibilities it can bring to future roses.

Smiles,
Lyn

Good information to have!

Thanks for giving us some positive aspects to KO's, Lynn!