Spring Gardening News Distributed 02/22/08
One group of roses that is not necessarily new, but has been receiving more and more attention over the last few years is the modern-type landscape shrub roses. These roses have great potential, according to LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Allen Owings.
“Landscape shrub roses will not make you great cut flowers but will give your landscape an abundance of rose flowers for 75 percent of the year,” the horticulturist says, explaining, “They bloom practically nonstop during the growing season, from March to November in South Louisiana and April through October in North Louisiana.” He adds that they are much less prone to blackspot disease than our traditional hybrid tea, floribunda and grandiflora roses.
“You will be amazed with the bloom and easy of care for these great rose varieties,” Owings says.
The best of the landscape shrub roses is Knock Out, according to the horticulturist. It is an All-America Rose Selections winner from 2000. Owings says it took a couple years for the variety to be on the market for most horticulturists to realize how great of a plant it is.
The shrub rose grows to a height of 4-5 feet, is rounded and bushy. Blooms are a deep, fluorescent cherry-red, complimented by glossy burgundy-green foliage.
Knock Out has been praised for outstanding black spot disease resistance and has received the best disease-resistance ratings at the LSU AgCenter’s Burden Center AARS display garden since it was first planted there in 1999.
New at retail garden centers a couple of years ago were Knock Out Pink and Blushing Out Blush. Both of these plants reach sizes and have landscape performance characteristics as the original variety. Knock Out Pink has medium-pink flowers, and Blushing Knock Out has very light pink to blush-pink flowers.
New in 2006 was Double Knock Out, which has the double flower form of the original Knock Out. Double Pink Knock Out was introduced last fall.
Rainbow Knock Out was an AARS winner for 2007. The delicate, 2-inch, five-petal flowers of Rainbow Knock Out are a deep coral-pink color with a yellow center finishing nicely to light coral.
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On the Internet: LSU AgCenter: www.lsuagcenter.com
Contact: Allen D. Owings (225) 578-2222 or aowings@agcenter.lsu.edu
Editor: Mark Claesgens (225) 578-2939 or mclaesgens@agcenter.lsu.edu