The unmistakeable, repeat-blooming, carmine-flowered 'Knock Out' was bred by William J. Radler in 1988 and released in the US by Star Roses in 2000 (HMF). Since then, it has marched steadily across suburbia, all sorts of landscaping schemes, and into virtually every nursery or big box store. It is, perhaps, the paragon of the modern shrub rose-- floriferous, disease-resistant, brightly-colored, and inclined to make a nicely-shaped bush over time. The cultivar's popularity is undeniably deserved, and I'm sure that it has done much for Rosa's PR, dispelling the old myths that characterize all roses as cantankerous, greedy divas requiring a constant diet of unpleasant "chemicals" to bloom well.
But I'll be the first to admit that my relationship with 'Knock Out' is a little more complicated. First, I want to unequivocally establish that I have nothing but respect for William Radler and his magnificent variety. Frankly it is hard to imagine where the rose industry would be without 'Knock Out,' and I'm not sure that non-rose-fanatics would be planting those new durable "landscape roses" if 'Knock Out' and its marketing had not come about first and spread the word on easy-care roses. We're finally away from the tyranny of the hybrid tea, and I think that this can be attributed, at least in part, to 'Knock Out.'
The shift from bloom-atop-thorny stick roses to varieties in the 'Knockout' mold was a momentous regime change. The dominance of one was replaced by the dominance of the other. Looking at the microcosm of devoted rosarians, who love their collections of unique varieties-- the vast majority of which are obtained only from specialty nurseries or other collectors-- planting one variety en masse, at every house and parking lot, is anathema to the quite old horticultural philosophy that prizes variety and diversity. Suppose, then, that a non-rosarian spies a splendid 'Knockout' (or one of the double or pink sorts) festooned in bloom. Imagine that they say, "Oh, what a lovely rose!" They know that you like roses, and they look over to you for your input. How strong temptation is at this moment! How delicious it would be to quip "Ah, another Knock Out. You can find those vulgar things at every gas station in town."
Although our imaginary discussion is perhaps not too realistic, it is easy to become jaded with 'Knock Out' planted everywhere as far as the eye can see, when it is is very likely that other varieties could fill the same niche just as well, and offer more diversity in color and form to boot. But it is especially easy-- for me, at least-- to direct my distaste for bad landscaping plans and monoculture in general (think of such things as Bradford pears and variegated privet) towards Rosa's choice submission for use in this unfortunately prevalent trend. The truth of the matter is that I rather like 'Knock Out;' and I'm sure that somewhere in the world, "gas station gold" variegated euonymus and Bradford pears are actually acceptable (If someone would like to tell me where that place is, please do). But I'm still perched squarely atop my horticultural high horse-- why on earth would I plant a 'Knock Out' when I could plant something obscure and fascinating, like a Penzance sweetbriar or a hybrid of a North American species? Of course, you should plant whatever you want, since you garden for you, and not for ranting rosarian snobs (to be clear-- virtually every rose grower I've met has been quite pleasant and decidedly un-snobbish).
Now about monoculture, and the inevitable mention of dreaded rose rosette. In Tennessee, rose rosette has had a veritable party. Perhaps every other 'Knock Out' I came across had the telltale witches brooms and unnaturally red growth. Although there is likely much better discussion of this subject on the Rose Hybridizers Association Forum, it is well-known that monoculture is especially conducive to disease, so perhaps landscapers' penchant for 'Knock Out' had something to do with RRD's spread. When some of my own roses exhibited rose rosette symptoms, I did some looking about, and noted that a neighbor had a near-dead infected 'Double Knock Out'-- perhaps not the responsible party, but nonetheless suspect. More likely the invasive populations of R. multiflora, which appears to be particularly susceptible, should bear the brunt of the blame.
A family member's un-deadheaded 'Double Knock Out' had a productive season a few years ago, and some of the resultant seedlings gave me my first taste of tiny repeat-bloomers pushing out their first flower with only a few leaves underneath (They almost strike me as semi-suicidal in this respect).
'Knock Out' is a great variety with a lot of uses, and it's made many people happy. But, landscapers-- could you ease up on it a bit? There are lots of other excellent varieties, too, and you know the adage about "too much of a good thing."
Although our imaginary discussion is perhaps not too realistic, it is easy to become jaded with 'Knock Out' planted everywhere as far as the eye can see, when it is is very likely that other varieties could fill the same niche just as well, and offer more diversity in color and form to boot. But it is especially easy-- for me, at least-- to direct my distaste for bad landscaping plans and monoculture in general (think of such things as Bradford pears and variegated privet) towards Rosa's choice submission for use in this unfortunately prevalent trend. The truth of the matter is that I rather like 'Knock Out;' and I'm sure that somewhere in the world, "gas station gold" variegated euonymus and Bradford pears are actually acceptable (If someone would like to tell me where that place is, please do). But I'm still perched squarely atop my horticultural high horse-- why on earth would I plant a 'Knock Out' when I could plant something obscure and fascinating, like a Penzance sweetbriar or a hybrid of a North American species? Of course, you should plant whatever you want, since you garden for you, and not for ranting rosarian snobs (to be clear-- virtually every rose grower I've met has been quite pleasant and decidedly un-snobbish).
Now about monoculture, and the inevitable mention of dreaded rose rosette. In Tennessee, rose rosette has had a veritable party. Perhaps every other 'Knock Out' I came across had the telltale witches brooms and unnaturally red growth. Although there is likely much better discussion of this subject on the Rose Hybridizers Association Forum, it is well-known that monoculture is especially conducive to disease, so perhaps landscapers' penchant for 'Knock Out' had something to do with RRD's spread. When some of my own roses exhibited rose rosette symptoms, I did some looking about, and noted that a neighbor had a near-dead infected 'Double Knock Out'-- perhaps not the responsible party, but nonetheless suspect. More likely the invasive populations of R. multiflora, which appears to be particularly susceptible, should bear the brunt of the blame.
A family member's un-deadheaded 'Double Knock Out' had a productive season a few years ago, and some of the resultant seedlings gave me my first taste of tiny repeat-bloomers pushing out their first flower with only a few leaves underneath (They almost strike me as semi-suicidal in this respect).
'Knock Out' is a great variety with a lot of uses, and it's made many people happy. But, landscapers-- could you ease up on it a bit? There are lots of other excellent varieties, too, and you know the adage about "too much of a good thing."
Great post. I couldn't agree more that certain landscape plants are far overused on account of their widespread availability. I've noticed that people who have their yards landscaped by run-of-the-mill landscape companies invariably end up with some combination of Japanese barberry, boxwood, juniper, arborvitae, euonymus, and, as you say, knockout rosebushes for the shrub component. That's it. As a result, much of suburbia, once carpeted by diverse native vegetation, is now ecologically useless (unless you count the barberries eaten by birds, the seeds of which they poop out when they perch in natural areas, spreading the invasive species far and wide). It's fine that many people don't have the time to manage a more diverse landscape, but attractive swaths of weed-choking native shrubs and perennials require scarcely more maintenance than does a bed of boxwoods surrounded by landscape fabric, and at the same time provides quality habitat for wildlife like songbirds. As more people recognize the value of native plantings, hopefully nurseries will begin offering a greater diversity of plants and we'll start noticing a little more variety in landscaped areas in the future.
ReplyDeletePS Also, as far as I'm concerned, there is no good use for multiflora rose. The plant is horribly invasive, looks pretty ratty in any amount of shade, and, I swear, if you try to pull one out, it will actively fight back with its nasty thorns. It carries a disease that hurts people's planted roses too? Makes me wonder whose idea it was to plant it everywhere!