Shrub Roses: Repeat Blooming Nearly Wild and Knock-Out Roses a Hit

It seems every gardener/designer has a favorite go to shrub to add for color. For me it is the Knock-Out Rose or Nearly Wild. These shrub roses are hardy, somewhat carefree, and easy to maintain. You just can't go wrong.

I first spotted the Pink Nearly Wild Rose on a trip to Petoskey, in Northern Michigan a few summers ago. The streets and  parks are lined with them!

I thought, well, if they will grow in the cold winds off Lake Michigan, they will grow with the cold winds of the farm land near us. So I stopped at local nursery there, ask what they were and bought one. And I was right! They winter well with cold, snow and wind.

Being my first rose bush, I made sure to ask the seller how to prune it. He told me that after the flower had died, to prune the bush at the first three leaf section. Now you don't have to even prune shrub roses after they flower, as they will 'deadhead' themselves for the most part. But if you are a bit of a neat gardening freak as I am, and you do prune, it will encourage them to grow faster.

Spring pruning is also unnecessary, but can be done to remove and branches with winter wear, or to keep the bushes tidy.


Learn more info about Nearly Wild roses here.

My other favorite, is the Knock-Out rose. I have a few red, double red and a yellow.

My first encounter with Knock-Outs, has been a winner. Contemplating a large front garden area, I knew I would have to use my funds sparingly. So looking for a deal I went out searching the big box stores. I scored. I found four in patio pots marked down 75%! It seems no one pruned back the spent flowers and with no new buds they marked them down. Yeah for me!

I paired these with lavender, Cora bells, Variegated willow, and a low growing juniper. The roses have thrived!

Sticking with the Knock-Out's I added a few more red ones to the south side of our home. These get full sun most of the day and doubled in size in just a years time!

The last of my Knock-Out's is called 'Sunny' and is yellow. This one seems slightly more prone to black spot than the others, and doesn't flower as profusely. Though I still love it!


Black spot, is literally what it sounds like. It makes small black spots on leaves and turns them yellow. It is important to remove all the affected leaves and spray with a mixture, of dish soap and baking soda, or a commercial make spray for it.

Read the particulars of black spot here.


Read more on the Knock-Out brand of shrub roses on their official website, and also here.

One additional note, Knock-Out Roses, always known for their disease resistance, has taken a small hit thisHere is the complete info and how to prevent spreading to another bush.
season in some parts of the country. Called, Rose Rosette Disease, the disease will completely kill the plant if it obtains is.

Over-all if your looking for color, you really can't go wrong with either of these shrub roses.

Rejuvenate Your Plants: Deadheading Prolongs Flowering

Now that your flowers are off and blooming, you'll want to keep up the show going forever! Of course, while realistically that's nearly possible, you can keep repeat blooms going for much of the summer. 


Many perennials bloom the entire season but only if you deadhead them. What is deadheading? Basically you prune back the dead flower/seed heads after the plant has flowered, to promote additional flowering.


A few repeat blooming perennials that benefit from deadheading
 include:

• Blanket Flower
• Veronica
• Speedwell
• Lavender
• Bellflower
• Yarrow
• Tickseed
• Coneflower
• Pincushion Flower
• Endless Summer Hydrangea
• May Night Salvia
• Rozanne Geranium
• Dianthus

Two well known some-what self- pruning perennials are:
Stella D'Ora Daylillies
Knock-Out Roses
These two plants, while can be deadheaded, will continue to bloom without pruning. I have learned if you have the time, pruning the Knock-Out roses every now and again during the growing season tidys up the bush and encourages growth. To prune, find dead flower, go to next three leaf start - and prune at that point. 


An easy way to clean up or deadhead blooms that can be pruned all at once, is using hedge trimmers. I know it seems a bit overkill, but I love using my Ryobi cordless hedge trimmers to prune back ground covers that have bloomed. They are also great to use with Veronica, dianthus pinks, lavender (once I pick some to dry), or pruning back foliage on mums. (Note: Trimming back the foliage on your garden mums in mid June will promote more plant growth and to assure beautiful fall blooms.) 


Of course, you can also keep your annuals blooming longer by deadheading them, too. For annuals, dead heading or pinching back the plants stems, keeps them from becoming straggly looking over the summer months. 


Now that the full blown flower season is among us... keep pruning, watering, fertilizing and enjoying! 


Happy Blooming!