Knockout Roses

My dad always enjoyed gardening and had beautiful gardens throughout his property. But the one thing he always complained about were his roses. No matter what he did, he always got black spot on his Tea Roses and it really bothered him. So, a few years ago, I gave my dad a small, 12" Knockout Rose for his birthday. At the time, I was taking a class on Woody Plants at Farmingdale and my teacher was Vinnie Simeone, director of Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay, New York. He spoke to us not only about the beauty of these shrub roses, but also the ease in which they can be cared for. Knockout Roses are disease resistant, drought tolerant and self cleaning, so there is no need to deadhead. At Planting Fields, he was slowly replacing the Tea Roses with shrub roses. This was a plant I knew my dad had to have. 

Take a look at it today:

Clearly it is doing well! And as promised, it has been disease free and maintenance free. He prunes it every spring, but otherwise, he just lets it do its thing. 

The rich cherry red/hot pink flowers begin blooming in the spring and will continue until the first hard frost. The foliage is a dark purpleish green and turns burgundy in the fall. It enjoys full sun. They are a wonderful plant for every garden and landscape.