Don't care for knockout roses..

[Physalia]

Hello,

My wife does not like knockout roses. She says she has never seen one that looks full, always gangly!!

So, I am looking for another plant to use in my lawn /landscape to use instead. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

[applestar]

Is this a full sun area with good drainage? -- I would assume since you had/have roses growing there.

Are you still looking for shrubs that would be covered with bloom all summer? Knockout roses would be... What? About 4 feet high max? What is the width of the bed? What kind of max and min height are you looking for?

Will you also consider flowering perennials. Do they have to bloom all season or would you consider a selection of plants with shorter blooming period that are staggered through the season?

What about evergreens or fall foliage interest shrubs or edibles (which would bloom then fruit and sometimes have pretty fall foliage)?

Finally, is this bed to be viewed from all directions or is it against the side of the house wall or fence?

[ElizabethB]

As usual Apple is asking all of the right questions. I personally like knockouts at the back of a bed or in the center of an all sided bed. Staggered with plenty of space for mature size. Plants in front or around the roses hide the gangly nature of the plant. I enjoy the year round blooms and the low maintenance. They don't do well in a structured bed.

[luis_pr]

Knockouts can get much higher than that. Last two years, I missed pruning my Knockout and it is approaching 7'!!!!

Then again, I just saw a landscape company plant knockouts in the middle section of a nice road here, about 1.5' to 2' apart. Talk about preventing people from crossing the road! Those thorns will defintely do it! Hee hee hee!

[rainbowgardener]

I'm glad to see someone else not liking knockouts. Lots of people swear by them for the low maintenance, but to me they seem like they are always covered with neon-colored balls, kind of fakey looking and they mostly don't have any fragrance or make rose hips.

Lots of nice flowering shrubs you could use instead, but I can't think of any that will stay covered in flowers like the knockouts do, if that is what you are going for.

[luis_pr]

Well, I like roses for their scent and Knockouts do not impress in that area.

[lorax]

If you want a low-maintenance rose that has beautifully fragrant flowers that look real, and a growth habit that isn't gangly, then you might want to look to the species. The two that come to mind are:

Rosa canina is my personal favourite. Not too tall, nice and bushy, and the smell! I'm blessed to live in a climate where the bushes never stop blooming, and these things perfume my entire yard. I use them for rosewater for baking as well.

Rosa arkansania is another star (these are often sold as "wild roses") - amazing range of colour, double flowering cultivars starting to appear, crazy strong fragrance, and basically a weed so you just have to deadhead if you don't want hips, and prune for shape.

[ElizabethB]

For an extended blooming shrub you may want to look into Encore Azaleas. No fragrance but a repeat bloomer that should do well in Georgia. They have the same low pH requirements as other azaleas

https://www.lsuagcenter.com/news_archive ... zaleas.htm

Nor real picky about light - they do fine in partial shade to full sun.