This new generation of low-maintenance rose varieties is turning the rose’s difficult stereotype on its head. Developers acknowledged the complaints from the public and set about building a better rose. The result has been the emergence of a number of different types of easy-to-grow roses. The charge has been led by the Knock Out brand, which is now the most popular rose bush in North America. Most rose bushes grow best in full sun, in well-drained soil, and when you help out Mother Nature by supplying water during dry periods (but water at ground level so as to avoid getting water on the leaves). All entries on the list are suitable for USDA growing zones 5 to 9 (in the case of Rosa rugosa, 2 to 7). The beach rose bush’s tolerance of salt is not limited to sea salt; it extends to road salt, as well. This feature, along with the fact that it is a low-maintenance plant overall, makes it a rose to grow along the side of a street. Prune these rose bushes to shape them in late winter or early spring if you wish to manage their size. At maturity, they generally stand 4 to 6 feet tall, with a similar spread. For even lower maintenance (if you have the room), treat them as wild shrubs, pruning only to remove dead wood.
It is an easy-to-grow rose bush. It bears the classic rose fragrance. Its flower takes on the tea-rose form displayed in such popular roses as Tahitian Sunset, bearing attractive, double blooms.
Those are not the only benefits of this variety. This plant is disease-resistant, blooms all summer, and is compact enough to grow well in a container. Measuring approximately 3 feet by 3 feet at maturity, care for At Last roses is simple: prune and fertilize in spring. Standing 3 to 4 feet tall at maturity, with a similar spread, there is no pressing need to prune Candy Oh! roses, other than to remove dead branches. Some cutting back is commonly recommended to give the plants the form that you desire for them. Pruning is best done in late winter or early spring. But it is really up to you as to whether or not you prune with any great precision, and if you do choose to do so, exactly when you prune. Smoothie’s name is based on the marketing assertion that it is thornless (as in having smooth canes). Sadly, this isn’t always true. ‘Rainbow’ Knock Out measures about 3 to 4 feet tall when mature, with a similar width. It can get bigger than that in some regions and/or under the right growing conditions, however. To manage its size, prune it in spring and/or in early summer. Make a cut down to a leaf or to a bud that is pointing away from the center of the plant, to keep the shrub’s branching pattern airy, rather than having too much in the middle. Prune off branches that are rubbing against each other during your spring or early-summer pruning and prune off dead branches at any time. It is easy to grow this rose bush partly because it is so disease-resistant, being successful in warding off: powdery mildew, black spot, and rust. In addition to basic spring pruning done every year to maintain size, you should perform a rejuvenation pruning on Knock Out roses every other year in late winter. Prune out a third of the oldest branches to channel energy into creating healthy new branches. As blooming pauses on a Knock Out rose bush during the course of the growing season, feed with a balanced rose fertilizer. ‘Pink Supreme’ makes this list for its low maintenance. Plant several of these easy-to-grow roses on a patch of land where you do not intend to be walking but where you would like to have color throughout the summer. Pruning is as easy as shearing off the top two-thirds of the plants in late winter or early spring.
