Shelia said:
Hi Tootsie! ... Do you have any idea why my knockout roses aren't blooming? I thought they were supposed to be easy
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
Well Sheila...I KNOW you are following the Fertilizer Friday regimen I have started right? lol...Well...since I cannot get my hot little hands on A Knock Out Rose here in Alberta...I am going to tell you what I know about them from trying to get myself one...and maybe add a few things that I have read in the past (not sure why some of this stuff stays with me...but hey...knowledge is never useless...One Day...Someone WILL ask...lol.
The Knock Out Rose will grow from 3-5 feet tall and be just as wide. It produces clusters of gorgeous blooms, that are very fragrant and come in red and Pink and a blushing pink. They will bloom from spring until frost, don't mind humidity and they are drought AND cold tolerant! They prefer to have at least 6 hours of full sun each day , are self cleaning (means you don't have to dead head) and are disease and pest resistant! This does not mean that they are disease and pest proof...just resistant. They are most commonly used in groupings or as hedges. Their leaves will change from a pretty green to a burgundy color int he fall...new leaves are also slightly burgundy. They are hardy from zones 4-9. This is why I cannot have them. I am in zone 3 (stupid climate restrictions) lol.
Now...for your problem!!!
You could check the soil for burrows (as in made by moles, but recolonized by voles that love the taste of Knockout roots. Maybe you have ants? Are there Aphids on it? The two seem to go hand in hand...If you have Aphids...you could just spray them off with water...or...I know of a gardener that will put a bit of flour (yes from the kitchen) on the leaves of the infected (with aphids) plant and leave it there for about an hour or so..and then wash it off with a strong spray of water...apparently the flour will stick to the bugs...smother them and the problem is gone! She swears by it-and has a beautiful garden.
Or it could be damage from cool weather that took out the buds on the warmer side of the rose that were just a bit more mature (and vulnerable to the cooler temps -if you had some...I think you are in Texas...maybe when you got that bit of snow?)
Or it could be damage from cool weather that took out the buds on the warmer side of the rose that were just a bit more mature (and vulnerable to the cooler temps -if you had some...I think you are in Texas...maybe when you got that bit of snow?)
Knock Out roses are famous for prolific blooming and being disease resistant. Also, using a tomato fertilizer on a plant that doesn't boom well has proven to be useful. Just follow the directions on the package for a mature tomato plant.
Now...while I am talking about Knock Out Roses...I may as well go into a little bit of the pruning of them. They are not at all like other Rose bushes...they are super easy to clean up. They do not need standard style rose pruning. To ensure and encourage healthy growth and loads and loads of blooms...in the late winter (if it is not too cold outside) grab your hedge trimmers or shears to cut the plant down to about 1/3 or even 1/2 of the current height. In some cases this may make your plant only 12-18 inches tall...that's okay. This pruning will help with the blooming too. If you are using a hand held manual pruner, try to cut back the branches to an outward-facing dormant bud, because a new branch will pop out where it leads away from the center of the plant!
Man...I wish I could get my hands on one of these...regular roses are pretty...but they don't grow as fast, and they are not as easy or disease resistant!
Hope I helped Shelia! If you have not met Shelia yet...click on her name...slip over and say hi! You will not be disappointed.
Now...while I am talking about Knock Out Roses...I may as well go into a little bit of the pruning of them. They are not at all like other Rose bushes...they are super easy to clean up. They do not need standard style rose pruning. To ensure and encourage healthy growth and loads and loads of blooms...in the late winter (if it is not too cold outside) grab your hedge trimmers or shears to cut the plant down to about 1/3 or even 1/2 of the current height. In some cases this may make your plant only 12-18 inches tall...that's okay. This pruning will help with the blooming too. If you are using a hand held manual pruner, try to cut back the branches to an outward-facing dormant bud, because a new branch will pop out where it leads away from the center of the plant!
Man...I wish I could get my hands on one of these...regular roses are pretty...but they don't grow as fast, and they are not as easy or disease resistant!
Hope I helped Shelia! If you have not met Shelia yet...click on her name...slip over and say hi! You will not be disappointed.
25 comments:
Good tips Tootsie. We in North Florida prune ours back on Feb. 14.
A lot of people around here are getting them. A friend has some beautiful white ones. I may try one next year.I just planted my Japanise Toad lillies. Should be intresting. hehe Kathy
Hi Tootsie, Great post on Knock Out Roses, they are beautiful and easy roses to grow.
Hi Toots, thanks for the info. I have the same problem but I am blaming it on having to move the plants because of the pool building. At least they did not die...Christine
Thanks for the info!
hey! Nice bathroom diva picture :)... Skinny B@#$% ! I'd spend more time in mine if the mirror made me look like that! Exactly what time did you finally go to bed last night if what I'm reading at 7:00am is only from 6 hours ago? Huh? Huh? :) Well...wish I wasn't afraid of growing roses cause they sure are pretty. Can't wait to see yesterday on your blog!!!! Have a good day! Colby got up in the night with his eyes swollen shut and his lips are swollen like tweetybird...guess where we'll be going today...yup...the dreaded APPOINTMENT! Bye!
Great post, I'm going to check these out! That stinks you aren't in the right zone, I hate when I find a plant I love online or in a magazine and I can't have it. Boo.
Thanks for the great info!
~Michelle
Tootsie, I clicked on your garden pictures blog. You have an amazing eye for color and your yard is the absolutely breath taking.
Wow, am so jealeous. But, I guess we have to pick and choose which things are going to be the most important. For the past 3 years, ours/mine was tournament bass fishing. This year have gotten back into horse showing.
So who knows, maybe when I'm too old to ride I'll get back to the yard.
Very, very beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Ramona
Great info, Toots, but oops... knockout roses have just about NO scent.
Justine :o )
Thanks Tootsie, we are in zone 5 and have k/o roses. They are very easy however one of ours winter killed this year. :(
Question for ya, we have been having so much rain this month that I definitely don't need to water my plants Soooooo, how do I fertilize?
Donna
Oh, Dear Tootsie! Thank you so much for the info! Now, I don't have any ants or little bugs. The bush itself looks great, so I'm thinking maybe I should get some of the tomato fertilizer you suggested! Like I told you, I was trying to be good and clipped off the dead heads - that's when the sillies quite blooming! But where I clipped I have this pretty light burgundy growth coming back - just as you said! So hopefully, I'll get some blooms. I'm going today to buy some tomato fertilizer! Thank you so much, Tootsie for doing this for me.
I'll keep you posted on what happens!
You are the sweetie,
Shelia :)
We have our first knock-out rose bush this year, and it is doing great. Thanks for the info, especially about the pruning. Sally
This was good info. I've never grown them but was wondering what they big deal was. Now I see, no deadheading is a huge plus and all those blooms!
I've been wanting some of these! I might be able to take care of these! You take care girlfriend! Lauralu :)
I'm off to pick up the Tomato fertilizer today. I usually use Miracle Gro. Thanks for the info! ~ Robyn
Great post Tootsie, as always. And your answer was so thorough. I keep seeing Knockout Roses posted everywhere. Too bad we don't do well with Roses because of the deer. I do watch for one that Bob had when we were first married that I know he would like to have again if I can ever find it. If I do we'll guard it with our lives and probably keep it in a pot on the deck - although the deer have been known to just step right up there too!
Hello Tootsie, I also have been hearing quite a lot about these amazing knockout roses (I am sorry you cannot have them in your garden). Thank you for all this wonderful information. Do you think they will do well in front of a hedge, I have a large expanse of hedge and nothing grows in front of it as the hedge roots are to many and to thick, I was hoping to put in some KO roses but did not know how their roots are. Your gardens are always so beautiful, happy weekend, Kathy.
Wow. That was a lot of great advice! I know where to come when I need it!
I hope to join FF soon. We have had nothing but rain in Chicago (today we have flash flood warnings~that is a first) so I have not been able to do much. I am loving your header picture by the way. Just gorgeous!
Have a wonderful weekend, Tootsie!!
xoxo
Jane
I'm an Italian woman who loves roses and flowers in general. I liked this post .Your blog is really cool! If you want,come to mine.I'll show you my garden.Bye from the south of Italy.
I do love my red Knock Out blooms but the aphids have done a number on the foliage..I've started spraying last weekend but we've had so much rain I'll have to reaply. Never heard of the flour trick but worth a try too! Great post, Toots!
Lynn
Knockouts are really just that easy. The first year they came out I bought just one and didn't pay hardly anything. The next year when I went to get more, the price had increased...but they are still worth it.
I wonder if you could pot one and overwinter it in your greenhouse. It would be worth a try. And no, they really don't have much of a scent...but they make up for with color!
Debbie
Hi Tootsie, I love the Knock Out roses too. Mainly because they are sooo easy to grow, and have great color for so long. I also like the sweet scented old fashioned kinds, but don't have any luck growing them. Hope you get a kick out of my post today, as a fellow gardener, I know you can appreciate it! Ha.
Maybe I should try these knock out roses. The roses I have are inherited and I'm pretty sure they are heirlooms and not modern hybrids. The previous owner of our house planted them. I struggle with them every year because everything gets to them no matter how much I spray and fertilize. I would love to have nice roses but I don't have the time or energy to do a lot of work with them. I'm going to make note of the knock out roses and maybe try them next year. -Jackie
Hey Tootsie.. I have grown knock out roses for the last 3 years.. Here in Texas- we do not prune them at all.. they take very little water, and i constantly clip the dead heads off.. for new growth.. I recently did a post on them... You always give good advice.. hope u are doing well..
They are so beautiful. I love roses. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. God bless!!!
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