February 2011 Newsletter©

Knock Out® Roses

And Rose Care

 

I know you’ve seen them. The original Knock Out® rose is planted everywhere. Touted for its disease resistance, even under irrigation, it has become a mainstay of commercial properties and a favorite of homeowners.  For season long color, they are hard to beat with hundreds of deep cherry pink (nearly red) flowers.  If left alone, they can get 6’ tall and wide.

You don’t need to prune them, but they take pruning well and can easily be kept smaller. Feed them monthly. March through October for the best results.

You may not have seen all of the Knock Out Family of roses, so here they are:

Pink Knock Out

←

 
 

Knock

Out

←
 
                                                                                         

 

Rainbow

Knock Out

←

 
 

Blushing

Knock Out

←
 
                                                      

 

 

 

Sunny

Knock Out

←
 

 

And the two double flowered varieties…

 

Double Pink

Knock Out

←
 

Double

Knock Out

←
 
                                                        

 

The same hybridizer also introduced the Home Run series.  The original Home Run has Knock Out parentage and now we have a pink sport of Home Run.  Both are excellent, very showy roses with good disease resistance, but not as resistant as the Knock Out series.

 

Pink

Home Run

←
 

Home

Run

←
 
                                                      

 

And now the first white in the series…White Out.

 

White

Out

←
 

 

White Out will be a little shorter than most of the above, normally 3’- 4’ tall.  It is not as resistant to black spot so it is not one of the Knock Out family of roses either.

 

Also from the same hybridizer come two new introductions, Milwaukee’s Calatrava (a very fragrant double white that is tinged in pink) and Peppermint Pop (a pink and white, two toned flower) with good disease resistant.  (Very limited supplies on these two!)

 

 

Peppermint

Pop

←
 

Milwaukee’s

Calatrava

←
 
                                                      

 

Plus one more from the same guy, a climber…Winner’s Circle.  Non fading, heat tolerant and a prolific bloomer.

 

Winner’s

Circle

←
 

 

These are just a few of the 130 plus varieties of roses we grow here at Dan West and we are potting them now.

 

ROSE CARE

 

     First, select the best location for your roses.  Roses need a minimum of six hours of sunlight, preferably morning sun and afternoon shade for hybrid tea, floribunda and grandiflora roses.  Many roses slow down or their roses fade in very hot temps so for the best flowers, protect them from the hottest afternoon sun.  Good air circulation and good drainage are also important; roses will not tolerate “wet feet”.  Check the pH of your soil every year.  Roses prefer a pH between 5.8 and 6.2.  Dig your hole slightly deeper than the container and twice as wide.  Most Dan West roses are grown in peat pots that can be planted.  Cut away any pot above ground level.  Roses in plastic containers must be removed from the container.  Position the rose in the hole so the graft is slightly above ground level and backfill the hole with a mixture of 50% existing soil and 50% cotton burr compost or other organic matter and then water thoroughly.  Water your new rose thoroughly prior to below normal temperatures or extremely windy conditions to help prevent the canes from drying out until feeder roots have developed.  Roses require about an inch of water per week.  That’s approximately 3 gallons per plant. 

     Fertilize your roses once a month from March through September, with ferti-lome Rose Food or Rose-tone and we recommend an application or ferti-lome Start-n-Grow or Osmocote with Epsom salts (which encourages basil breaks) in March and July.

     You should start spraying to prevent fungal diseases as soon as the foliage begins to sprout.  We recommend ferti-lome Systemic Fungicide, occasionally alternating with Mancozeb fungicide.  Combine an insecticide with your fungal application if needed and spray every 10-14 days.  Always read and follow label directions and wear appropriate protective clothing.

     For best flower production, weekly cut, prune or deadhead your roses.  On new roses, prune short stemmed flowers to leave as much foliage as possible.  If possible, cut just above an outward facing leaflet.  Always remove very thin canes and canes in the center of the plant to help air circulation.  In late fall, cut your roses back to about waist high to prevent winter wind damage.  In late February or early March, prune your roses back to 10” – 20” tall, depending on the plant and start your fertilizer and spray program again.

Climbers should only be pruned to remove damaged canes or canes growing where you don’t want them.  They bloom best on 2nd year and older wood, so do as little pruning as possible.

 

We get a lot of questions sent to us from our website.  Lately though, we have had many sent without the sender entering their email address in the little box.  I’ve had questions about table decorations for a party, topiary plants for a wedding, weeds in the yard and more but without an email address…I can’t answer them.  The questions come from our website not your email address.  So if you didn’t get an answer, please know that I’m not ignoring you, I just don’t know who you are.

 

This was January’s test.  It is Chinese Wild Ginger, Asarum splendens.

 

 

Ok, here’s this months quiz!  Unscramble this botanical name “SPONEEHIRPL  ATTAXLAE  NSNTSBOISIEO”.

 

The contest ends on February 28th.  Drop by either store to enter or you can email your entry to

questions@danwestonline.com. One winner, selected from all correct entries, will receive a $25

Dan West Gift Certificate.

 

Thanks for shopping with us at Dan West.