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UT Gardens' Plant of the Month:
The Perfect
Rose
by Dr. Sue
Hamilton
Looking for the perfect landscape rose? Try
the new Knock OutŪ Rose bred by Chicago Botanic Garden
Rosarian William Radler.
This rose
has great clusters of 3.5-inch blooms that are fire-engine
red. (In hot climates their color is more of a light
cherry-scarlet.) The flowers begin blooming in April and
continue for many weeks. The shrub then rests for a bit, and
blooms again for the remainder of summer and well into fall.
Knock OutŪ Rose has the longest bloom cycle in the rose family
and will fill your garden with bright color and a subtle tea
scent. When the blooming finally stops - following a hard,
killing freeze - the plant continues to color your garden with
burgundy-violet fall foliage. Plus, its winter fruit
(orange-red hips) makes it an attractive shrub in the
landscape in every season.
The Knock
OutŪ Rose is exceptionally winter hardy (to -20°F).
Unlike
other roses, Knock OutŪ Rose is essentially maintenance-free
and needs only half a day of sunshine to thrive. It grows to a
3 foot x 3 foot shrub rose while sneering at drought,
humidity, and pests such as Japanese beetles, leafhoppers, and
rose midge. In fact, it is so pest tolerant that pesticides
almost never need to be applied! As a bonus, it is the most
blackspot-resistant rose ever grown. Despite its durable
qualities, the Knock OutŪ Rose will appreciate pampering its
first season or two.
Knock
OutŪ was bred from a seedling of R. 'Carefree Beauty' x a
seedling of R. 'Razzle Dazzle.' It has become so immensely
popular since its introduction that new varieties are arising
each season. You'll now find Knock OutŪ available in a red
selection named 'Radrazz.' and in 'Pink' and
'Double'.
Knock Out
Ū was first introduced in 2000 and hailed a "breakthrough
shrub rose" by the All-American Rose Selections because of its
exceptional disease resistance and hardiness. It was one of
three roses to win the prestigious AARS award for outstanding
garden performance in 2000.
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Sue
Hamilton is an associate professor of plant sciences in the
University of Tennessee Department of Plant Sciences. She is
also director of the UT
Gardens, a project of the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment
Station. The Gardens are located in Knoxville on Neyland Drive
and in Jackson on Airways Blvd. Admission is free, and the
Gardens are open to the public seven days a week during
daylight hours.
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Contact:
Patricia
McDaniels, UTIA Marketing and Communications, (865)
974-7141
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