Knockout Roses in Abilene

by Rick
(Abilene, TX)

My favorite flowering shrub is the knockout rose. They are very simple to grow and look great. I have five planted in a bed on the side of my house that gets very little rain or sun. I pretty much neglect these roses, yet they grow like wildfire.

I make sure there are no weeds growing around them, and I fertilize once a year with regular plant fertilizer. The cold winters and the extremely hot summers have no impact on these shrubs. Every plant around them is dying and they keep on trucking.

One trick that I have found is to make sure not to cut them back the first year. That bit of advice has made all of the difference with my knockout roses. I pruned them back by a third after their second and subsequent years to help them become more shrub like.

They produce flowers starting in mid-spring and continue throughout the summer into the fall. I will pinch the dead flower heads off if I remember to.

My only complaint about knockouts though, is that unless you like the color red or pink, it can be very difficult to find a color that you like. I would personally prefer a deep burgundy color, but I have no success finding them in Texas. They of course have thorns, but wearing a good pair of gloves will keep that from being a problem.

I hope you have as much success with these wonderful flowers as I have. Good luck and good growing.