Knock out roses HELP!!!!

[blackbelt2047]

Hello all, first time poster here. I am very new to landscaping and plants, so please bear with me. We had a lot of landscaping done about 2-3 weeks ago and during that time, we had 6 knockout roses planted. They are in raised beds and get approximately 8 hours of sun a day. Not sure if it matters or not, but we have 4 Radrazz bushes and 2 of the white knockouts. They are divided equally in two separate beds. The roses seemed to be doing fine the first week or two, however over the last week they have been looking sick. I read not to over water them, so I have been watering them no more than twice a week and I have been watering them deeply. Yesterday, I noticed the tips of the roses turning a red color. It seems that most of the buds have fallen off. I will try to attach pictures if I can. I did a quick search on google and found out about the rose mites. Could that be what this is? I will be the first to admit, that I am somewhat ignorant to this stuff, Im trying to learn. Any tips or advice that you could give would be much appreciated.

[rainbowgardener]

Why do you say they are looking sick? Look OK to me. Rose leaves are commonly red/ reddish when they first emerge and then turn green. If that is what you were worried about, it is normal.

But you will need to clip off all those spent flowers if you want it to keep blooming. If it starts putting all its energy into making seed, it won't bloom.

[blackbelt2047]

Ok, again, Im very new to this stuff. So this is looking normal then? The reason I say they are looking sick is because they are losing their flowers and a couple of the bushes are starting to droop. So you recommend clipping off the spent flowers?

[imafan26]

After bloom use a clean pruner and cut 1/4 inch above a 5 leaf outward facing node. The red leaves are new leaves. Roses only bloom on new leaves so you want to prune and feed the roses after each bloom cycle . Rose food works, but so will miracle grow for acid loving plants or any balanced complete fertilizer with micros.

The American rose society has growing information on its website. If you are really into roses you might want to visit a rose society chapter near you.

[blackbelt2047]

After bloom use a clean pruner and cut 1/4 inch above a 5 leaf outward facing node. The red leaves are new leaves. Roses only bloom on new leaves so you want to prune and feed the roses after each bloom cycle . Rose food works, but so will miracle grow for acid loving plants or any balanced complete fertilizer with micros.

The American rose society has growing information on its website. If you are really into roses you might want to visit a rose society chapter near you.

Great, thank you for your help so much!! Question, since these knock outs are so new (only been planted in our landscaping for 2-3 weeks) is it ok to miracle grow them that soon? I read somewhere that using fertilizer when they are just planted is not a very good idea. Are they safe to fertilize now? Thank all of you so much!

[Allyn]

I had four Knock-Out rose bushes here before I moved them to my FIL's property. One of the 'perks' of the Knock-Outs is that they don't need to be dead-headed -- at least I was told these didn't. I never dead-headed them and they bloomed profusely from early spring until early winter (zone 8b). They were just blossom machines putting out wave after wave of flowers with no dead-heading.

[imafan26]

Some roses a re self cleaning, some are not and need to be dead headed. Since roses should be opened up to improve air circulation it is better if they are pruned after each bloom cycle and fed. Roses are heavy feeders especially in the summer. Always feed to promote healthy growth.

I have one knock out and it is a good bloomer, but mine is not fragrant. I had another one called Robert Strauss, but it was very prone to black spot and did not last very long. I prefer the old hybrid teas because they have bigger bloooms and have more old world fragrance and I like tall long stemmed roses. I try to get roses with glossy leaves since they are more disease tolerant than the ones with matte leaves. The most carefree roses in my yard is a rambler, I think it is red cascade and a landscape rose called baby blanket. The two of them are like weeds, I barely do anything to the besides cut them back. I have red simplicity, Queen Elizabeth, Proud land, Mr. Lincoln, and the knockout rose that I cannot remember the name of it is white with a green edge with no fragrance. My peace rose died and I will need to get another one. Most of the roses I have are very old. Red simplicity is from around 1992. They have been neglected and I feed them intermittently but they are survivors.