Caring for Knockout Roses

The Knockout Rose was bred specifically to be hardy and it is the easiest rose for a beginner to grow. This article illustrates the very basic care necessary for this very tough, but still beautiful rose.

The knockout rose is one of nature's most precious and perfect additions. This rose requires very little up keep, and grows to an average of 3 feet tall. When properly cared for this rose will bloom every 5 to 6 weeks. Caring for knockout roses is a task so simple that even a beginner can plant and grow this rose with hardly any instructions at all. The knockout rose grows best in sunny areas, and moist weather. This rose has its own built in defense system is only needs to be protected from a few relatively small insects. However, there are still some steps beginners should take, to properly care, for their knockout roses.

During the early spring/summer months, knockout roses need very little care. These roses should be fed good organic rose food that is easy for the plants to digest. Better results happen when the organic food is mixed into the soil and applied at the base of the plant. This is usually done for the first spring feeding. The recommended amount of food is one tablespoon per plant. This is usually enough, because there will be additional feedings, as you go about caring for knockout roses.

After the first bloom, the knockout roses are then ready for their second feeding. These roses do have a feeding schedule, and are intense eaters. They will have a couple of more feedings thorough the year. For example, their next feeding should take place in the late summer months, followed by a fourth feeding preferably in the month of October.

However, some gardeners put their roses on a monthly feeding schedule. Another important aspect to remember in caring for these roses is to water them lightly. In the summer months when no rain is forthcoming, the knockout roses will need to be watered on a more regular basis. During a dry season when no rain is predictable, it is possible for them to dry out. Keep the garden area clean, and follow up with an insect spray. The spray should be gentle enough for the roses, but deadly to the bugs. Insects such as, red spiders, frogs, and other aphids are an enemy to the rose. The care of these roses is not as difficult as caring for most plants, once a routine is in place.

During the winter months the plant's appetite falls off a bit. Fertilizing the roses during these cold months is not necessary. Applying winter protection material is required. This material, called mulch, is a covering that is placed on the ground (only after the ground is frozen) to help the roses sustain during the cold. In mid August, fertilization should cease, as the knockout rose will need to adapt.

When caring for knockout roses during the winter months, please note that this rose has a high tolerance to cold weather, and requires only minimal care, and protection. Deadheading is not necessary. The mulch can be removed during the early spring, only after the hard freeze of winter has ceased. With a year of proper love and care, the following spring will bring you an even bigger bounty of color!

About the author: Jason Cranston was born in the UK and became interested in roses very soon after acquiring an MBA in marketing. He is very active in local rose societies and as part of his passion for caring for knockout roses, has written his own e-book, "My Book of Rose Secrets" which is available along with a free ten part email mini-course at his website. http://www.myrosesecrets.com/caring-for-knockout-roses

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