Care for Knockout Roses is fairly simple and with these disease resistant roses coming in a range of colors as well as double flowering forms, with a little attention to basic rose care and pruning you can have some of the best repeat flowering roses available.
Pruning and Care of Knockout Roses is not much different to pruning any other rose. It’s just a little easier.
Knockout roses are repeat flowering roses that are highly resistant to disease. Repeat flowering means that they send out a new flush of flowers very 4 – 6 weeks depending on conditions, and if you deadhead them they are sometimes even quicker to re flower.
You will most likely buy the rose in a 3 gall container, ready to transplant into the garden or a permanent container or pot. This can be done at any time, however after care when transplanting is important. Adequate moisture and staking to allow for good root development.
General Care
- Plant Knockout in full sun try for at least 6 hours of sun a day
- Use a humus rich free draining soil
- Mulch around the rose to provide a cool root run
- Water in the morning and water the soil, not the plant
- Grow from zone 4 through to 10 (they are tough)
- Fertilize from spring every 3-4 weeks during the growing season.
Try growing a Knockout Rose in a pot or container on a sunny patio
All roses need a little pruning, some more than others, however with a little care and the right tools it’s really straightforward.
Is Your Knockout Rose Not Blooming ?
Even with these reliable roses it can happen, here are the reasons.
- Over fertilizing – If you feed roses to much they will put on lots of leaf growth and few flowers.
- Watering from overhead – In summer if you water with sprinklers or a hose the foliage gets wet and this will encourage diseases that can inhibit flowering.
- Lack of sun – Like most roses Knockout roses need around 6 – 8 hours of sun a day to flowers well.
- Pests – Aphids and other insect pests can destroy the buds before they develop.
When to Prune Knockout Roses
The best time to prune roses is when they are dormant so we are looking at late winter to early spring, and Knockout Roses are no different. So start by removing any dead or diseases wood with some sharp lean Secateures or loppers.
Next take a look at the plant and decide which growth looks good and strong and which looks thin and weak. Remove any thin weak growth.
After this it’s pruning to size and shape.
Knockout Roses can usually be pruned using a sharp pair of secateures, when faced with larger canes, or old tough canes try a pair of long handled Rose Loppers, they provide more leverage and make the job a little easier.
How much do you need to prune back the rose bush, after the rose is established 2-3 years about 1/3 a year is generally accepted, if the rose is small and young, hold back on heavy pruning for the first year.
It’s always a good idea to ask your rose grower for advice when you purchase.
Ongoing Care and trimming of Knockout Roses
And as for the rest of the year, when the plant is growing and flowering, remember to deadhead, remove old flowers, again with sharp Secateures and remember to cut back to just above a bud.
- Deadheading encourages a new flush of flowers, and as Knockout roses are a repeat flowering rose you will what to make the most of this.
- Deadheading also removes unsightly old flower heads and helps prevent disease and dieback
- Fertilizer needs to be applied in spring, we suggest using a specialist rose fertilizer for best results.
