Are you ready to prune your knockout rose bush? Are you scared you might kill it? Don’t worry! These hybrids are easy to care for and are a quick win for your landscape. Lets help you strategize and conquer pruning your knockout rose bush.
This post is all about how to prune knockout rose bush to have big beautiful blooms for your next growing season.
What is a knockout rose bush?
A knockout rose bush is a beautiful luscious full rose bush. Its is a hybrid which makes it less prone to disease and insects. They make your landscape absolutely stunning and colorful. You will find them in pink, red, and yellow. Blooms will repeat from Spring until frost (around November).
When buying a knockout rose, you will see two varieties. One is single bloom and the other one is double. Single blooms are simply just one layer of petals. Double blooms are thicker and more dense petals with more than one layer of blooms. If you are looking for a thicker, more layered look, go for the double knockout rose.
This plant can grow anywhere from 3′ tall up to 8′ tall.
Which zones are best for growing knockout rose bushes?
The best growing zones for this rose bush are zones 5-11.
When is the best time to prune knockout roses?
Are you wondering if trimming knockout roses in the summer is ok? Or, can you prune knockout roses in the fall? You will get conflicting information regarding when to cut back knockout roses. Cutting them back in the summer is an option, but no more than 1/3 of the size of the plant. You can also cut them back any time between late fall and early spring before the new leaves arrive.
Based on the company’s recommendation, it is recommended to prune them in early spring after the last frost.
Pruning Details
You may have heard gardeners refer to deadheading their roses throughout the growing season. This is a form of pruning where you simply remove the spent bloom. A knockout rose bush is self-sustaining or self-cleaning which means you do not need to deadhead. You generally deadhead by hand with or without a tool. The blooms will automatically fall off this rose bush as a another bloom grows in it’s place.
When it comes to pruning the entire bush, it’s very simple. Prune as much of your rose bush as you want! Cut 1/2 of it down or cut it down to 12 inches. You will not hurt them so don’t worry about how far down you cut them! They will grow back!
After you have pruned the rose bush, you have the option of adding rose fertilizer. Follow the directions on the package. This will help with root structure and allow it to absorb more nutrients and water throughout the growing season.
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Caring For a Knockout RoseBush
This rose bush is very easy to manage! They typically like like full, but they will grow in partial sun. Remember if you want the best blooms, full sun is recommended (6+ hours per day). You don’t necessarily need fertilizer, but they do respond very well to rose fertilizer.
When planting a knockout rose, be sure to space them at least 3 feet apart. This will give the bush ample space to grow as well as not intrude on plants in the same shared space. They are perfect on their own, with a group, or mixed in with other landscape plants like perennials and shrubs.
If you were on the fence, I’m sure you are ready to move forward with pruning your rose bush. This plant is resilient and has plenty of bounce-back! You can leave your experience in the comments. Happy Pruning!
This post was all about how to prune knockout rose bush.
