Have you ever heard of knockout roses? If you’re a flower enthusiast who enjoys growing all sorts of different flowers in the garden, then you most likely know what we’re talking about. That’s because knockout roses are one of the most popular types of roses and with good reason. They enchant people with their various colors and intoxicating scent, and they’re also extremely low-maintenance. If you think you might want to plant some knockout roses in your garden, you’re in the right place. Today, we’re going to provide you with 13 reasons why.
13 Reasons Why You Should Plant Knockout Roses for a Gorgeous Landscape
1. Appearance and Diversity
One of the most obvious reasons for planting knockout roses is their lovely appearance. Sure, one could argue that all roses are beautiful, but not all roses are this beautiful with so little care required. They come in a large range of colors and varieties, each prettier than the next. For instance, you could try planting double knockout roses, which are typically red and scented, or you could go for the pink knockout rose, which is particularly delicate and vibrant.
There’s also the double pink knockout rose, whose blooms have as many as 20 petals each. As a result, they look extremely textured and full, and they’re going to provide your garden with a splash of color and a picturesque look. For the lovers of more toned-down pink shades, there’s always the blushing knockout rose, and for people who love yellow, the sunny knockout rose is simply perfect. There’s also a type of rainbow knockout rose, which has pink, yellow, and apricot shades. As you can see, you have plenty of options to choose from, which makes this type of rose all the more attractive.
2. Constant Blooms
Yes, you heard that right. Knockout roses bloom nearly year-round in warm climates. So no matter the season, you’ll be able to have at least one plant in your garden that provides it with some color. Not only does this type of rose bloom even when it’s colder outside, but the blooms are also quite heavy. How often does it happen to find a plant that you don’t have to take care of that intensely, and that still blooms throughout all seasons? Almost never.
3. Fragrance
While most roses have a nice fragrance to them, it’s impossible to deny the fact that fragrance still plays a major role in the decision to plant knockout roses. Their scent is quite strong, which means you’ll be able to feel it even if you plant the roses at the back of your yard, far away from the sitting area where you rest or have guests over.
4. Frost Resistance
As we’ve already mentioned, knockout roses bloom in all seasons, including winter. This wouldn’t be possible if they weren’t extremely resistant to frost and low temperatures. They can withstand temperatures of up to -25.1 degrees Fahrenheit, which is pretty impressive. So if you’re looking for plants that you can grow in the winter as well, knockout roses are one of the most obvious choices.
5. Versatility
Another reason why knockout roses are a great choice for a gorgeous landscape is the fact that you can grow them pretty much anywhere. They love sunny locations, but they also grow perfectly fine in partial shade. Moreover, you can plant them in garden beds, alongside fences, or along garden paths. They’re extremely versatile, and they can become the center of attention in any area of your garden or backyard.
6. Drought Tolerance
Knockout roses aren’t only frost tolerant, but also drought tolerant. While they wouldn’t stand desert conditions, they can grow just fine under moderate drought. Ultimately, this is more than we can ask for in a rose variety. So if you live in a place where the summers can get really hot, but you still want to plant a knockout rose, you can do that without worrying the sun might kill it.
7. Pest and Disease Resistant
If you thought things couldn’t possibly get any better when talking about knockout roses, you were wrong. Apart from being so gorgeous, versatile, and resistant to frost and drought, these roses are also resistant to diseases and pests. These are two of the most common concerns of people growing plants in their gardens. Diseases and pests can be extremely hard to get rid of, and they can actually completely damage your plants. Luckily, you don’t have to worry about that with these roses. Not many pests or diseases seem to be interested in them, which can only be good news for you.
8. Self-Cleaning
We’re not making these things up, knockout roses are actually self-cleaning. What we mean by that is that while with other rose varieties you have to invest some time and effort into cleaning faded blooms, dried leaves, and so on, these roses clean themselves. Faded flowers and wilted leaves simply fall off when the time is right. This leaves you with one single job, that of cleaning them off the ground (if you want).
9. Healthy Foliage
Naturally, the main attraction of any type of rose is its petals and the blooms in themselves, but having nice foliage is a great added benefit. Knockout roses have both, which is yet another reason why people tend to prefer them over other rose varieties. Their foliage is dark-green, and it stays like that no matter the weather conditions and the season.
10. Great Cut Flowers
What’s the point of having gorgeous roses in your garden if you’re not going to use them as cut flowers as well? While the knockout rose has a thin stem, which causes it to last less than other rose varieties, it more than makes up for it with its intoxicating fragrance and colorful appearance. This makes it a great cut flower. After all, the whole point of cut flowers is to look good and successfully decorate your home, not to last for a really long time.
11. Fast Growing
Among the many things that can persuade someone to grow a certain kind of flower, the amount of time it takes for the flower to grow and start blooming is definitely a top priority. No one likes to wait around for who knows how many months in order to see some results in their garden. Well, knockout roses won’t make you wait. They’re rather fast growing, which means they’ll change your garden landscape in no time. Moreover, after you prune them, it doesn’t take long for them to start growing new branches and blooms.
12. Low Maintenance
We’ve kept mentioning that knockout roses are flowers that don’t require a lot of maintenance, but we had to stress just how little care they need in order to thrive. So, you don’t have to worry about the best place to plant them, you only have to water them more carefully if the weather gets extremely hot and there’s a drought, they don’t need deadheading, they only need pruning once a year, and you don’t have to fertilize them too often. As you can see, there aren’t many things that you have to take care of when growing these types of roses.
13. Container Grown
More good news is that you can grow knockout roses in containers as well. That’s because there are varieties which don’t grow extremely large. Growing them in containers accomplishes more than one thing. For starters, you get to move the containers around the garden as you wish, which is always a great added benefit. Then, you can also move the containers indoors, if you live in an area where the winters are cold. That way, you’ll protect your roses and provide them with the best of winter care.
Bottom Line
Knockout roses are the most popular rose variety in the U.S. with good reason. They’re the perfect flower, both for beginner gardeners and more experienced ones. For beginner gardeners, the good news is that it provides them with the opportunity to start their flower garden with a variety that is low-maintenance, taking the pressure off from keeping a close eye on them. For more experienced ones, it’s definitely a piece of cake to grow, and it nicely complements other types of roses they might have in their gardens. We hope the list of reasons why knockout roses would make a great landscaping plant that we’ve provided you with today has persuaded you to give this rose variety a chance.
The only thing we urge you to remember is the fact that even if the roses are low-maintenance, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care for them at all. Like any other flower out there, these roses also require minimal care. If you fail to provide them with that, they might be affected by the disease called rose rosette. This disease is caused by a virus, and it tends to affect primarily knockout roses. Taking care of them is going to keep the disease at bay. For information on how to identify and control this disease, take a look at the video below.
