Any of you in Georgia have any experience with these type of roses? Got any tips to share? From what I've read, they seem to do very well, and do not require much care, which would be perfect for me. Although it may not be an ideal location, I want to plant them near a huge live oak tree, which has a slightly sandy soil (see images below). The area I want to plant gets a few hours of sunlight off and on throughout the day, but not the recommended 6 hours. I know this may not be the best location to plant them, but the reason I chose it; is because it's near my dear cat's grave. I just want to make it look pretty around there for her. For all the love and happiness she brought into my life, she deserves a beautiful grave site. I was thinking about digging the area(s) out I plan to plant, and fill the holes back in with a bag of better soil. I am certainly open to suggestions, and appreciate your input. By the way, do you have any photos of your Double Knock Out Roses, or Drift Roses to share? I would love to see them. Thanks Jeffrey
Jeffrey, I am in central Texas, not Georgia, but I think we share similar climates. Knock-out roses are sturdy, and don't need the dead heading and pruning that some other roses need, but they do need sun and water. That live oak you've pictured has nothing growing under it. Oaks soak up water, leaving the surrounding ground very dry. They also provide shade all year around, and even if the sunlight through the tree is intermittent, it wouldn't be sufficient for a rose. Providing a memorial garden for your beloved pet is a lovely idea, but having the garden filled with struggling plants is not what you want. May I suggest a shade loving plant or two in containers? You can water a container when needed, control the soil, and a shade plant will like having some sun, some shade. http://www.georgiaperennial.org/data/top_tens/index.htm has a list of plants that will do well in your situation. (In my opinion, Knock-outs are way overrated. They do get diseases and need fertilizing to encourage bloom)
marlingardener, thank you very much for responding, and for the helpful information. I've considered some plants as well. Still researching, so not in too big of a hurry. Thanks
Marlingardener has said it all very well. A good indication of an inhospitable growing environment is when nothing is growing on it! And I agree, some container plantings would look great there, maybe surrounding a bird bath to bring some birds in. Maybe a bird feeder? Or would your beloved kitty object to that?
Hi, thanks for taking the time to respond. Some container plantings are a possibility. I was actually thinking of some pink Hydrangeas in a container. I just want something with pretty colorful flowers, and that will come back each year. My neighbor already has a bird feeder and bath in her yard, but the squirrels have taken it over. and are digging holes all in her yard, mine too. In fact, they have been digging around my cat's grave, so I may need to avoid placing food near there. Lady G. certainly enjoyed watching the birds and squirrels, though. I would show her videos of them on Youtube, and she would sit there and stare at my monitor, turning her head in every direction, trying to figure out what was going on. It was so cute to watch! Again, thank you very much. I do appreciate it. Jeffrey
Jeffrey, to discourage the squirrels, place some chicken wire about 2" under the soil where you want them to stop digging. Of course, this only works for a smaller space. We don't have squirrels because we do have hawks. Probably importing hawks is not a good idea for you ?
As long as the neighbor keeps feeding them, they seem to stay over in her yard, for the most part. And there are hawks and owls around my house all the time. But very rarely have I seen them catch a squirrel. Of course, I see the owls at night when the squirrels are already in their holes. But hawks will occasionally swoop through during the day. Thanks for the tip about the chicken wire. Never heard of that before.
Hi Jeffery, I know you have decided to go in a different direction, but I have a comment about Knock Out Roses. I have been underwhelmed by them. I am growing two and they barely bloom. It's probably because I have less than ideal conditions: maybe less than half day sun. I also grow 2 Peach Drift roses under the same conditions & they bloom theirs heads off. Another rose that will bloom in part shade is Rosa Zephirine de Drouhin. It is an old old rose, very hardy. Indestructible, with few thorns. Great for putting near a gate or entrance.
This is a bouquet of our Old Blush roses with artemesia as filler. Old Blush isn't the best cutting rose, but I'll take what I can get at the end of March.
Thank you for the information. I've really not decided on anything just yet, still looking. I've also heard a few good things about drift roses on another site, where some preferred them over the Knock Outs. I guess no matter what we plant, it's either hit or miss. That's very pretty. Thanks for sharing.
Hello everyone, I got distracted with my other threads and wanted to update everyone with some good news. Well, at least it is to me. I ended up buying two 1-gallon cherry red Double Knock Out Roses on May 4th, and planted them that same day by that live oak tree. And other than a few issues with their leaves, the roses seem to be growing very well. On May 28, I had my first three roses to bloom on one of the bushes! And as of today (May 30), that same bush now has four roses on it! The other bush also had it's first rose bloom today. I'm very happy about seeing this, and hope they'll continue to grow well and produce tons of roses. If I am able to grow roses, any one of you can do the same. I had absolutely no clue as to how to go about growing them. After talking with several of you good people on this forum, and on other forums, including reading a few articles I found online, I was able to grow them. I still have a lot to learn, but I know I can count on you good people to help me along the way. Thank you very much, everyone. I will continue to update this thread along the way. If interested, I have provided links below to my other threads where I am discussing some of the issues. There are additional images in those threads as well. https://www.gardenstew.com/threads/homemade-sprays-for-double-knock-out-roses.41102/#post-377328 https://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1505791/#post_10428503 https://garden.org/thread/view/107301/Questions-About-Issues-With-My-Roses/ https://imgur.com/a/SgES21V
Jeffrey your roses are looking really good. They appear healthy and pest free so you're doing a great job.
Roses are still looking good. I now have a total of 7 roses on the left bush, and 4 roses on the right bush (seen in the last image of the roses). And there are a few more yet to bloom on each bush! Yesterday, I went and bought a pink Double Knock Out Rose and planted it between those first two. Praying this one will be a success as well. I've been clearing the ground of the patches of grass and weeds in this area to plant some grass seed. There is just too much dirt, and I would love to be able to green it up by growing some grass. I bought a sun & shade grass mixture to try, so hopefully all goes well. I also have issues with ground moles tunneling all over my back yard, and those pesky rascals have gotten on my last nerve! Here's how it looked around her grave before removing the ugly patches of grass and weeds. Here's how it now looks after clearing it all up, and after planting the pink Double Knock Out Rose. I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm getting there. And I must say, I've been enjoying every minute of doing this for her! It may not be the best of places to grow things, but I'm certainly going to try for her. Yes, that's a banana peel, and it needs to be broken up and place into the soil. Here's the bag of grass seed I am planting. Fingers, toes, arms, legs, and eyes all crossed! Will provide another update when I can. Wish me luck!
