Tips For Growing Knockout Roses and Other Shrub Roses

Shrub roses, which contain the Knockout Varieties, are not only beautiful in the landscape, but they are easy to work with. They require microscopic effort and hardly any ongoing attentiveness and yet, they bloom beautiful blooms from April (in many zones) until hit by a hard frost in fall. For the color and life they add to gardens and landscapes for such an extended period, they offer one of the best values around.

Shrub roses, just like quarterly vine roses, enjoy a pH of nearby 6.0 to 7.0. Most all rose varieties require about 6 hours of sunlight each day, which is preferably morning sunlight. Protection from the hot afternoon summer sun will help to keep them happier. It is a good idea to watch the sunlight in the area you want to plant shrub roses to make inevitable that there is not only sufficient light, but afternoon protection.

They grow best in areas with high organic matter content, so you will not go wrong by mixing in aged manure and/or aged compost into the soil. When planting shrub roses, dig holes 18 to 24 inches deep, place the plants root principles (minus pot if holder grown or minus plastic if bare root), fill in hole with a blending of the soil and organic matter up to the root collar. Then, mound nearby the base of the plant with aged manure, aged compost, or wood bark mulch. Be sure to add more organic matter or mulch each spring. Water the plants at least once a week during the growing season. Do not water roses by overhead irrigation or other type of sprinkler system. Morning watering is best for shrub roses as it will allow time for the sun to dry any moisture on the leaves.

Organic matter is the best to give the plants the nutrients that they need, but supplement fertilize (if you use it) should be applied in early spring after the shrubs have begun leafing out.

Pruning is an prominent issue with roses. The best time for any major pruning is in early spring, before the shrubs begin to leaf out. Prune out all dead, broken, damaged, touching, or crossing branches. Once accomplished, the plants can be clipped for shape, which is a personal issue as some like the natural look while others prefer a rounded manicured look.

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