Oh, it all looks so pretty! In a couple of weeks it should be pure heaven. Love the stacked wall every time I see it. I see you got some steps in. I bet it makes climbing around up there a whole lot easier.

I wish I could plant my hillsides in a similar manner. All my acreage is hilly - northern slopes of the San Gabriels. And we have rabbits and ground squirrels so I have to stick to mostly native plants or else it becomes their salad bar. They have left my BP Icebergs alone so maybe there's hope. : )

I'll be looking forward to more of your rosey slope!

Diana

Is that a CLIMBING pinkie that is on the slope? And is it just one plant? Awesome, Ronda. My Knockouts are just starting to leaf out. Love my Knockouts too!

Rhonda, it sounds as though you are quite familiar with all the Knockouts. I had a huge amount of them at one time grafted on fortuniana, and it made them into AWFUL monsters. They ended up being so inpenetrable because of the huge thorns and the size of the bushes, that they had to be removed, as I absolutely could not take care of them. I truly believe they are best planted on their own roots. Fortuniana makes them too large.

I am actually thinking of making a small border (single file) made up of a few own root Knockouts, perhaps spaced 5 feet apart? How well would the original, the pink, and the blushing go together, or is it best to stick with all of the same. If that's the case, I like the color of the original the best. I have an area that needs some color, it has to be minimal work, and perhaps a smidge shade tolerant in the winter. The rest of the time the area is in full, blazing sun. I know the original Knockouts can handle that, and still bloom. I know nothing about the others.

Sandy

Terry--it is indeed Climbing Pinkie. I just let her weep over on herself.
She isn't really blooming here....just teasing me a bit. :o)

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Sandy--If you look at the fence at the back of the first picture I have a regular KO next to a pink KO.
They look good together. I will try to get you another picture when they are more in bloom.
It seems to me that someone had a wooden privacy fence line of KOs alternating between colors. It was stunning!!

I would never Knock the Knockouts. It's a beautiful Rose. Don't we all wish someone would come up with that perfect disease resistant, ever blooming creature that always looked good. They did. It's called Knockout. Some people hate it because it is soooo common but, it's common for a reason and so are Impatients and Geraniums.

We wish for that perfect Rose and then get upset when everyone else has it too. Thats really what the problem is in my opinion. We want this from a Rose, we want that from a Rose, and this, and that but, you had better not see Newbies buying it at HomeDepo, if you do it's no good. LOLLOLOLL

I'm sorry, I'll recompose myself now. I love your Garden great job and Knockout has made it even nicer.

Thanks for sharing the Pics,

Dan

Dan,
Good points. KO is not really perfect, but it does provide a solution to many rose problems here. Hardy, vigorous and nearly disease free. The bush is full and works well in the landscape. Bloom production is nearly non-stop.

Now, if they could just breed in some more fragrance...

Your garden is fantastic!

Love my knockouts pink and red..I might let them really grow to see how tall they will get!!

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Jess---There you are!! I knew someone had posted this picture but for the life of me couldnt remember who it was. Sandy will be pleased to see your picture.

Ronda, your garden is marvelous and I love the stonework you have done. What a great garden you have designed and maintained. Fabulous! We have a neighbor who has a sloping yard like yours and I suggested they take Knockout down the hill in a random pattern similar to yours and they get did (rarely does anyone follow my advice). Now they get lots of compliments on them.

I just bought 5 quart-size knockouts for a large border in my front yard. How vigorous do they grow and how long do they take to get a good size? Any ideas for companion plants? Thanks so much.

Cheri---

Plant and stand back. lol

Seriously one KO can get 6x6 in zone 7. Much of this growth is accomplished by the end of the second year. Be sure to leave plenty of space between the roses.

I LOVE catmint with my KOs. The purple is perfect in color and the foliage is a nice contrasting gray.

You can see it here:

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Rhonda and Jess, thgank you SO much for posting your garden pictures!!!! Jess, I knew that picture of the "combo" Knockout hedge was in here somewhere, but I couldn't find it in the search. I am thrilled that you posted it again. I wasn't sure if the pink blended with the red. Now I know that it does, and I feel it adds a great deal more interest than all the same. (All the same is beautiful too. I just get bored easily).

However, I do grit my teeth at the thought of the thorns, but at least I'm not doing 53 of them again, grafted ones no less.

Sandy

Ronda.

I love your garden and the photos. You have really managed a challenging slope with great grace. So pretty!

I appreciate your photos also as my husband and I have three KO's we wish to plant together as a group. On Sunday I told my husband I felt the space we had marked out was too small to which he replied, why, they don't get big do they? Ha! I'm showing him your photos now.

Thanks for sharing those.

Kate

Ronda,

Thanks so much for responding. This is my first try with roses. What do you think of the Jefferson rose as a companion?

Fine, be that way. Post pictures like that. See if I care. SIGH.

I'm going to replace my poor dead Bros. Grimm Fairy Tale with a red KO and hope it does better over winter... I bet it sails through. Darn it if the cheap grafted HT's next to it didn't do just fine, and yet the own root that I really wanted & paid $$$$ for about is deader than a doornail. (yes, cheese goes good with whine, as do tiny violins playing sad songs for me)

Same experience with Carefree Beauty. The expensive 2 yr. old ownroot died to the ground, the cheapo grafted copies around the back side of my house are live to the tips.

WHY are cheap roses so much easier for me to grow??? I am going to grow up to be a grumpy old rosarian, aren't I? Or end up growing nothing but Mordens and Knock Outs.

Cheers,
Michelle

ps. :-)))))) (Just kidding on all the heckling & drama queen whining)

I like ko's too. They put up with a lot of abuse: this pink one blooms and smiles whilst fighting with maple roots and shade.

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Ronda that Carefree Sunshine is nice too.. I just transplant my one Carefree Sunshine to a new location as it did not bloom much (it was next to a red Maple tree)I hope it does better in its new location. Does Carefree sunshine grow quickly like the knockouts do?

I had two beautiful KO's----and then we had a huge windstorm after a lot of rain and the big one was torn out of the ground-----I think KO is a great rose---especially if you have a lot of health problems--they give me a lot of pleasure with very little care.
I also have Blushing KO but it is still a baby.
Great pictures here.

Florence

Jess--

I have to be honest and say that my Carefree Sunshine didnt bloom at all the first year. I bought it own-root after hearing glowing reviews about it. I actually bought 3 thinking this rose was my only shot at having yellow in the garden (thrips and BS). At any rate all three are exploding into bloom and now I see what all the fuss was about. What a beautiful sight!

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One of our local nurseries has had the new yellow Knockout. I've gone back twice and they have been sold out "with a truck on the way". It's been inconvenient for me to go back after their truck has come in so I've still missed out. It is a very pretty yellow, and seems to hold its color. I should have picked one up the first time I saw it, rather than wait.

Sandy

Rhonda---I love your picture of Carefree Sunshine.

I too love this rose--

Lasr year it was almost smothered by Albertine and I could still see touches of yellow----DH pruned severly Albertine----and this year CS is all loaded with buds and readt to go.

and again---Your hillside is gorgeous.

Florence

Beautiful pictures everyone. Thank you for sharing. Oh, and I have one red KO and its a bloom machine. It gets a ton of winter dieback, so I cut it way down and it bounces right back, like nothing.

sorry...still hate knockouts. LOL

Your garden looks gorgeous ronda. Awesome! They look great from far away but just let them stay far away from me...lol :)

I would never knock the Knockouts! I now have four, and for reliable color all summer long, it's hard to imagine ANY shrub or perennial beating them, not just other roses. That said, I still prefer and coddle my "real" roses, and I am miffed that my local nurseries have pretty much reduced their rose inventories to KO's and Flower Carpet, with a few HT's (which I don't buy anymore). I go to Menards and Home Depot for KO's and common stuff like barberry and arborvitae--when I go to a real locally-owned nursery, I want to see VARIETY--makes me sad to see them just selling the big commonplace sellers and nothing else, and charging more for them to boot, but I guess they have to compete with the big boys. Beautiful garden, Ronda, BTW.

A workhorse in mt garden...

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Great pictures. Without the Knockouts, my yard would really look drab. I am trying to keep a few Floribunda's and Teas alive, but it's a struggle, and have had to bid goodbye to many others...Our soil is very rocky and I have to buy top soil if I want to plant anything...So, Knockouts were my Rose dream come true. Would be great if they'd produce them in colors of white, lavender, etcs.
Daun....How did you plant them to get them to cascade over the wall/fence like that?...I love it.

To all --

This is an amazing series of posts, and i'm so glad i have found the forum. I live at the cusp of zone 6/7, and my husband and i have been looking for real-life pictures and gardeners to discuss the whole landscape roses decisions with. This discussion was the perfect find, and teh pictures are priceless. Jess and Rhonda and daun and duchesse_nalabama, thank you thank you. I promise to keep the good work alive by posting before-during-after photos of the areas we are landscaping. Roses are a favorite, and i'm thrilled to be able to incorporate them in many different ways.

Well, they're OK I guess. They look beautiful in the pictures everyone has posted. In my yard they are not disease free. They need occasional spraying for blackspot or powdery mildew. They seem no more healthy than many of my other roses.

I have a blushing pink knockout and a rainbow knockout. The blushing pink is kinda pretty, but the rainbow's color fades fast to an ugly washed out color. I think they just don't like me.

Ronda....your hillside garden is just lovely. Thanks for sharing pictures. I am interested in the white birdhouse on the white post. Where could I get a birdhouse like it?

What beautiful pictures - a sight for sore eyes when all I see here is snow! You are all right about Knockouts. They are not the roses that take your breath away with their fragrance or bloom form, but they bring wonderful splash of color to the garden which is especially appreciated when our other 'ladies' are resting.

I thought I'd experiment with some overwintering in large pots instead of planting annuals every year. I can report there are buds swelling on both of them that lived through a winter down to -3 with no protection and minimal dieback.

Eric

I've gained a begrudging respect for Knockout. It has it's place and perhaps someday I will find that place in my own yard. Your pictures of how to use them in the overall landscape are wonderful. I think the worry many of us share is that with the popularity of this "franchise", that commercial nurseries will end up cutting back on any other variety for sale. I mean they are nice, but they do not have fragrance, their blooms lack form, they do not have long lasting vase life, and they still have thorns. Hybridizers do not need to stop in their quest for the perfect rose just because Knock-Out is around, and nurseries have to be willing to carry other roses while they experiment.

A mass planting of Knock Out will yield some fragrance, and Blushing KO is fragrant (not Tiffany, but not paper either). I'm not crazy about the color of the original, but I like Blushing and will keep it.

I am not a fan of the KO roses at all. I see them grown all over the place and for the most part they look terrible to my eye.
I think the problem is not with the rose as I have seen some that do look nice. I think the problem is that they are bought by people who think they can now grow roses and not have to do anything at all to them. Then they get scraggly and rough looking and lose their appeal.
These people wanting carefree roses don't prune, feed, water, or deadhead their KO's in any way and unfortunately the bushes look just like that.
KNOCKOUTS ARE STILL ROSES AND STILL NEED SOME ATTENTION AND CARE!! YOU CANNOT JUST PLANT THEM AND FORGET THEM OR THEY LOOK TERRIBLE!!
Just my opinion,.....
John