Knock Out® Roses
Knock Out® Roses have magically transformed the typically prickly gardener-rose bush relationship. A newly patented and trademarked series of rose cultivars introduced only a few years ago, Knock Out® Roses have taken the rose world by storm and for good reasons. Previously only dreamed of, wished for characteristics for roses are now a reality and suddenly the rosarian has something new and unaccustomed on his or her hands: extra time!
Knock Out Roses® have distinguished themselves in the minds of natural lawn care and gardeners because:
* They are ever-blooming
* They do not requiring dead-heading to create more blooms
* They are virtually care-free
* They will grow up to four to six feet tall if not trimmed
* They are pest and mold/mildew resistent
* They can endure periods of scarce rainfall well
* They bloom even in the winter, provided temperatures do not fall below freezing for long periods of time
* They are heat resistent in all zones of the US
* They will fit into any landscaping plan, however large or small
Even one of these qualities would have been revolutionary, but for so many improvements to appear in one rosey bundle is seemingly miraculous.
Bill Radler, rose-breeder par excellence, has forever changed the way we think of roses. With his development of The Knock Out® Rose, he ushered rose genetics from the 20th Century into the 21st Century. His incredible rose cultivars have become the new standard by which all new roses are judged.
The Knock Out® Rose was Radler’s first commercial success and earned him the 2000 AARS award. The Knock Out Rose has since broken all records for sales of a new rose.
The only downsides to Knock Out® Roses are their relatively high prices and the fact that as of last summer they were only available in red, pink, blush, sunny and rainbow blossoms (both as single-petaled and double-petaled cultivars).
But who’s complaining? For sheer gorgeousness and abundance with no thought to maintenance, pruning, spraying, dead-blossom-lopping, what’s not to love about Knock Out Roses? Take a look in any nice sub-division, scope out the grounds of well-landscaped churches and public buildings, and you will surely find bounteous, beautiful and hardy Knock Out Roses doing their thing.
Hat’s off to botanist Bill Radler who gave the world this terrific advancement in truly easy-care roses. Dear man, he deserves to have a rose named after him!
Tags: garden