Who hasn't seen those beautiful rose gardens and wished they could have just a small part of one? Think of roses and visions of spraying, pruning, dead-heading, and spraying some more come to mind, right? In some states the results are just not worth the trouble. If you've wished of having roses without all the bother you've got to try the Knockout rose. This amazing performer loves heat and humidity. It laughs at fungus and red spider mites. It's self-cleaning(not like an oven) which means no dead-heading. No pruning necessary, either. You can stick one right in the middle of a flower border or a pot on the deck. I love them massed in front of evergreen shrubs with thyme planted in front. Along a fence would be nice. If you plant one today you'll have blooms in a week if not sooner. Just be sure to give them a good soak the day you plant and everyday it doesn't rain for about a month. A good trick is to fill the planting hole with moisture retentive soil mix (in bags at Home Depot)then you can skip some of the watering. Just don't let them go completely dry. Clusters of cherry red blooms are your reward for a little bit of time grubbing in the garden. You can't beat the Knockout Rose!
