I have 'Knock Out' roses in containers. A neighbor who is a rose expert came by the other day and suggested that I prune them back by 1/3 in order to have a superior fall blooming period. I don't know if she knows that these are 'Knock Outs'. I have never done this before. I usually just leave them alone after their spring pruning in February and when the weather cools, they bloom their heads off. Has anyone pruned their 'Knock Outs' near the end of August?
'Knock Out' Roses - Prune Now?
I've only pruned of the dead "branches" and never really cut any of my roses back and I do have 1 knock out.
A year ago I did some plant work for a gentleman in Tyler and his neighbor pruned his back every time they were done blooming
But I read on a different site about pruning and not pruning I've copied and pasted it her for you to read it is not saying knock outs but it might be a guide to go by
"an experiment that was conducted some years ago in England. The experiment was conducted on three big rose beds. For 10 years or so, the first bed received no pruning at all; the second was pruned according to the rules I learned when I planted my first rose: cut everything down to 12-18 inches (or at least by one-third) and cut out any cane that's not the diameter of at least a pencil; the third bed was pruned with electric shears.
To the surprise of many people, the results showed that the roses in the first bed, where no pruning whatsoever was done, were the healthiest and produced the most blooms and the biggest blooms. The roses in the other two beds were virtually the same in terms of health and bloom size and quantity, so meticulous pruning is really no better than whacking away at things with an electric hedge clipper.
Obviously, you still have to remove all dead wood in all three cases, but the upshot is this: If you have room for your roses to grow as much as they want to grow, relax and let them do their thing. Pruning is for people who have to keep their roses within certain bounds. In addition, pruning hybrid teas down to 12-18 inches is important if you want long-stemmed roses.
We've all learned to make those diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch above the node when we prune. This usually takes a little more acrobatic skill than a flat cut. those diagonal cuts not only are unnecessary, but also can have a detrimental impact on the rose. They leave more open surface exposed to disease and pests than a flat cut.
We used to hear that flat cuts were bad because those points on the rose were then exposed to the falling rain, but rain rarely falls absolutely vertically. Around here, it comes in from all directions, as does the fog, not to mention the water from my hose or sprinkler, so a diagonal cut doesn't really protect anything from moisture.
The other new thing I heard was about those leaves we're supposed to pick up at the base of each rose bush if we want to avoid black spot and mildew. Only the green leaves have to be picked up. If they're already yellow or brown, no disease spores will grow on them, so they can be left as mulch or cleared away for aesthetic reasons, but it makes no difference whether you pick them up or leave them on the ground."
Thank you so much for the information. The results were very interesting. I have been conducting an experiment with the 'Outs'. I had read that because the blooms are are self-shedding, that the faded blooms don't need to be pruned off. The bushes form rose hips though. Somewhere else, I read that if you want more blooms to prune the hips off. I pruned the hips off on only one bush. It is such a tedious job! I shall see if it made a difference in bloom production.
well keep me posted on what happens
I'm not doing anything with any of my roses... for now with the heat of course
I did notice though a couple of them have had small blooms which surprised me as I am hoping they all have just gone dormant for now.
ALL of my plants including the KO have gone dormant. Take that back. The flame acanthus is blooming and feeding the bees and hummers. And the turks cap.
No need to trim Knock Out roses ... that's their beauty.
Off course they will look better if you remove the spent blooms ... but no need.
As soon as the temperature will cool down they will start to bloom again, luckly untill december.
Phyllis, just can't wait for some cool weather! All winter I couldn't wait for spring and summer. This summer has not been fun for me with the constant watering and trying to keep everything alive.
LouC, all of my roses have small blooms which of course don't last very long in the heat. I'm surprised that they are still blooming especially because they are all in containers so their roots receive a lot of heat. I still have a lot of blooms on most of my plants; however, most of the plants are smaller than usual due to the very cold winter and now the horrible summer. There are exceptions though. These plants seem to love the heat and are normal or above average in size: KO roses ((have to be watered every 3 days), all of the esperanzas ('Sunrise', Orange Jubilee', 'Gold Star'- little water) pyramid plant (little water) - a wonderful plant if you can find one to buy, cleome (blooming contantly, 3.5 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide -has to be watered every 3 days), Mealy Cup Sage,Henry Duelberg', shrimp plant, Jerusalem sage (no blooms now, but loving the heat), Garden Phlox 'John Fanick' and 'David' (need more water usual), lantana, hibiscus (several types), bougainvillea (several types), butterfly bush 'Ugandense' (Rotheca myricoides), Mexican petunia dwarf), Firecracker Plant, Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) - wilts, but revives, mountain sage (Salvia regla) which is now the size of a small tree and has bloomed some on and off all summer, Cape Jasmine 'Veitchii' , as Gardenia augusta (Gardenia jasminoides), vinca, frog fruit, angolina 'Serena MIx' - doing better than almost any other annual with constant blooms and don't require a lot of water, Mexican sage 'Zorro', just starting to bloom, pentas, damianita daisy (Chrysactinia mexicana), blackfoot daisy, thrift-leaf perky Sue or four-nerve daisy, blanket flower 'Mesa Yellow' (Gallardia x grandiflora), just keeps producing blooms - I cut off the seedheads, plumbago -little water, baby sunrose (Aptenia cordifolia), portulaca and butterfly weed aka Mexican milkweed (Asclepias curassavica). My other plants are blooming; however, I have lost a few and it has been a real struggle with no appreciable rain for months on end.
drthor, thanks for the information.
This message was edited Aug 20, 2011 11:01 PM
Thanks, drthor. I've been pruning my Knock Out roses when the heat allows me to do so but when I don't the deer do it for me and eat all new growth.
Oh, dear (deer)!!! When they do that, you have no blooms! Fortunately, deer haven't been in my neighborhood for many years. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have a lot of plants left this year because there is little plant life available for them to munch on. The cows in the field behind my house have been standing up with their front hooves on my privacy fence and munching plants that are (were) taller than the fence or growing over the fence. They love string beans!
htop, I need to print your list as there is no doubt I will be replanting my flower garden next spring. I have way too many plants in pots that need constant attention. Because we water and pay high price for it, our yard is filled with birds. Have never seen so many baby birds as others have just let everything die. 105 again today
I need to make some more raised beds in my backyard so that I don't have so many plants in containers also. I have very little dirt above the almost solid limestone and I have a huge Great Pyrenees dog that likes to trample things as he chases squirrels well as wee wee on the plants. He and my Parsons Jack Russell like to dig as well so using containers has been my only way to keep things alive and well. At least in has been a bit cooler here the past few days with it being only 100 or a little above.
We also have huge numbers of birds coming to eat and drink because the neighbors' yards offer nothing for them and nothing is growing in the field behind my house. More hummers are visiting than ever before as well as several types of hawks. I have set plastic garbage can Iids upside down on large pots and filled them with water to serve as extra bird bathes to accommodate all of the extra birds. I have been spraying water into the trees when I water and love to watch all the different types of birds that come for a quick shower. My lovebird, Ike, loves to watch the wild birds feed from the bird feeders that are right outside of my living room window. He is most fond of the cardinals for some reason. Maybe because they are more his size. When he is free in my bedroom (which doubles as an aviary now), he shows off for the birds that feed outside the window which is almost the whole length of the bedroom and goes almost to the floor. I throw birdseed on the ground outside of the window. When the wild birds are outside the window, he goes to all of his hanging toys that are in front of the window and does lots of quite amazing acrobatics for them.
Here Ike is showing off for the other birds by hanging by one foot from his shred toy.
He loves to swing on his hoops. When his friends are outside of the window, he does all kinds of maneuvers on them at a rapid pace. It's as though he is saying to them, "Look what I can do!"
How cute is that? My sister has always raised birds directly from the egg. She has a very large parrot (I'm too dumb to know all the names of her birds) that is now about 15 years old. He is amazing in that he has almost 200 WORD vocabulary and oddly knows when to say each phrase. Her grown daughter was a voice major in college and he can sing Italian opera as well as dozens of songs from broadway musicals. Named him Elvis. And 3-4 smaller birds...all in the parrot family....as well as 3 dogs, 1 cat, and 1 sugar glider. We call her Mrs. Noah. Your bird is beautiful and I know he gives you lots of pleasure. The fledgling birds at our fountain/bird bath has been phenomenal. We never have hummers this time of year and they are swarming the turk's cap and flame acanthus. Had one even take a bath right in front of my eyes. Couldn't believe my good fortune to see it. Of the many babies, there are two that I cannot ID and we have been bird watchers for years and I have multiple books. As I said above, because we water our yards has become a sanctuary for many different kinds of wildlife right here in the middle of the city.
Elvis sound incredible. Lovebirds don't "human" talk much. He can say a few words. I have had to learn his language as best I can. He is a lot of fun and has amazing flight skills (his wings aren't clipped). Some of the hummers are especially friendly. When I water, they come very close to me for a shower. What fun! the birds you can't ID are from Mexico and are traveling to the north searching for cooler weather. If so, they won't find it in Texas. What's strange this summer especially due to the drought, I haven't seen any possums, skunks or snakes coming in the yard for water.
We are overrun with opossums. Have little schi-tzu and she is possum baby killer. We have doggie door and she brings to us. UGGGHHH. Pretty sure we have a resident coon as well. I am terrified of snakes and have been watching closely before I stick my hand into a dark place.
I agree I need to copy the list too but then this weekend i was doing some searching online about drought tolerant plants and xeriscape
both of these places have information on it and one of course is pushing a book but still some info to read
http://drought-tolerant-plants.com/
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/
this one scroll to bottom and you will find a link for it
Can't afford plants right now anyway but makes some good reading for someday LOL
LouC, my Jack Russell's first kill was a baby possum. He was so proud to have defended me from this "horrible" creature. He brought it to the back door ... fortunately, we don't have a doggie door so he didn't bring it inside. Now, he is protecting me from lizards which I am attempting to keep him from killing. I used to catch the rattlesnakes that invaded my yard when my house was first built and for a few years thereafter. After I put the rattlesnake in a box, I would transport it farther out into the countryside and let it go. One drought period, I was deep watering the plants in a flowerbed and a small rattler went swimming by in the water. A hoe was close to me and I instinctively grabbed it and chopped the rattler's head off. I felt badly about it. But at least it couldn't ever bite a child or a pet in the neighborhood.
Phyllis, thanks for the links! These next days of extreme heat (supposed to be 106 and 107 Sat. and Sun.) will determine which plants will survive the summer. I starting to feel that I might not survive any more days outside trying to keep all of my plants alive! :o)
There are a couple of feral cats that roam the neighborhood. A few days ago one that was obviously just out of kitten stage jumped to drink out of the fountain/birdbath. Not threatening the birds, just plain thirsty. Don't know if it is true but have heard that cats keep the snakes at bay. I don't want a cat but am not sorry to see we are being "protected".
Well honey if you ever want to rally find out what the heat is like come take a ride with me on the school bus that does not have air other then the windows all the way down and the roof hatches open and one little fan by the driver
I promise you you will get your pores open and cleaned out on the afternoon route
today was the first day I didn't get of the bus soaking wet from the heat. Good thing I take a frozen bottle of water with me and drink it as it thaws LOL
funny!
Oh goodness, I didn't know the school buses weren't air conditioned. Is that true everywhere?
some buses do have air and some don't ......not all districts have bought enough buses so they all have air and with the cost cuts now not many districts will be buying buses for a few years
Cats do kill snakes as well as rats; however, the neighbors' free roaming cats have ruined many plants in my flowerbeds for years. I could never plant anything from seed outside of my privacy fence because the cats would dig them up as well as small plants when they used my beds as litter boxes. The cats would knock down plants and/or break off branches as they hid among the plants to catch butterfly and birds. After trying all types of ways to keep the cats out of the beds for years, the problem has been solved. My husband bought me several Bell and Howell UltraSonic Solar Animal Repellers. These really work. They have also been keeping the rats from easting my Mexican flame vine. Now, I don't mind the cats because they have been assisting with eliminating the rats. I also bought some fox urine granules to place on top of the dirt in containers to keep the squirrels from constantly digging in them. No more plants dug from containers!
Buses with no air conditioning in this heat! That could be hazardous to one's health! My SUV's air conditioner is out and I only drive it in the early morning or at night.
Got the following from the Neil Sperry newsletter this morning:Aftermath of the Drought - Neil Sperry's GARDENS
One Nellie R. Stevens holly in row has been lost, probably due to competition from tree’s roots.
I've begun each of my radio programs these past several weeks with the request, "If your question begins, 'Neil, my plants' leaves are all brown. Are they still alive?' there is probably a 99 percent chance that you've let them get too dry at least one time in the past two or three months." I've gone on to say, "There really isn't much reason for you to call, because that's probably all I'll be able to tell you anyway. Plus, it would make for three hours of repetitive radio."
But, let's address some of those issues here and now:
Native Trees
Large native trees in wooded areas of the eastern half of Texas have been browning for the past several weeks. That's been their natural way of coping with the hot, dry conditions. I've been gardening in Texas, with six years' exception, since 1958, and I've seen several really bad summers. Admittedly, this is the worst, but most large, old trees went through those droughts of the 50s, 1980, late 90s and 2005-2006 and are still alive today. Most will make it through this one if we get some rains this fall. We can't water the native woodlands anyway, so we might as well worry about something else.
Shade Trees
Mature shade trees, to a lesser extent, have been doing the same thing that woodland trees are doing in my notes above. They're just acknowledging that 2011 isn't going to amount to much. They're shedding tons of leaves, and they're dropping them early. Better species should be fine if we get fall and winter rains. In the meantime, water as you are able.
Where you need to worry more is with the less durable, fast-growing shade trees that struggle with all manner of insects and diseases. These trees have been weakened by the drought, and they're going to be far more vulnerable to pest invasion. My bet is that we'll find that we've lost a greater percentage of silver maples, mimosas, cottonwoods, fruitless mulberries, willows, Arizona ashes and other short-lived species when trees leaf out next spring.
20-year-old Leyland cypress trees have died due to simple neglect. Just a few dollars’ worth of water would have saved them.
Evergreen Shrubs and Trees
While deciduous plants are dropping leaves early, many of our evergreens are drying and dying in place. They don't have the mechanism for dropping leaves to get through the drought. I've seen hundreds of southern magnolias, Leyland cypresses, hollies, Indian hawthorns and even native eastern redcedar junipers turning brown. Sadly, those plants usually don't come back. Once browned, they're usually gone.
Deciduous Shrubs
Crape myrtles, althaeas, forsythias and other deciduous shrubs have lost many leaves. In fact, unirrigated plants may be completely bare already. That's probably not a good sign for any of them, and you certainly need to get water to them as soon as you can. Crape myrtles will be the most forgiving. They seem to bounce back better than most species, but they won't bloom as well next year if you don't water them soon.
Very large median bed of purple wintercreeper euonymus has been allowed to dry beyond permanent wilting point. Bare area marks a prior year’s drought where the groundcover did not come back.
Groundcovers
Asian jasmine beds have died by the thousands. That's really sad, too, because they take several years to establish, not to mention the expense of preparing the soil and buying and planting new plants. Once their leaves turn olive drab, then become tan and folded, the plants are pretty well gone. That's sad, too, because it doesn't take much water to keep Asian jasmine alive.
English ivy is the other big victim of the heat. If it sticks out into the sun at all, its leaves may be sunburned in large, light brown blotches. English ivy is a shade groundcover, but if trees lose their leaves early as we've already described, the ivy can be shoved into hot sun. Keep it moist and it should survive. You'll certainly have some tidy-up work to do when the weather begins to turn cool.
Roses
This summer has brutalized our roses. If you have browned buds and misshapen plants, do a bit of modest clean-up pruning to reshape the plants now. Try not, however, to remove more than 10 or 15 percent of their top growth this late in the season. You're just trying to help them look more presentable for the next several months. If they were vigorous going into the summer, they should be fine heading toward winter and spring 2012. (For more information on rose care, see Rosarian Mike Shoup’s “Rose Cuttings” this issue.)
Lawns
I've always contended that we Texans water our lawns too much, but I'm singing a new tune this year. People have just walked away from their lawns, and that's really too bad. Lawns are of significant value when it comes time to sell a house, plus your lawn is the carpet of your outdoor living spaces. Without a lawn, you don't really have a landscape.
If you have bermuda turf, resume watering as soon as you're able. If you have St. Augustine, you'll need to water and assess the magnitude of your losses. Hopefully, you'll have enough to repopulate the area. Otherwise, you may want to sow ryegrass for temporary cover this winter, and start planning now for replantings next spring. Zoysias are somewhat intermediate, but because of the cost of zoysia sod and the amount of time it takes to establish, hopefully you haven't lost any of your zoysia lawn. If you're in Northwest Texas, you probably have voids in your fescue lawn, and your normal September overseeding should take care of the issues.