Knock Out Rose Varieties

Knock Out roses are among the most popular landscaping plants in America. You may be familiar with the original, single-petal Knock Out rose. Meet the rest of the Knock Out rose family and get some tips on using them in your landscape.

April 02, 2021

By: Leanne Potts

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Photo By: Star Roses and Plants

Photo By: Image courtesy of Star Roses and Plants/Conard-Pyle

Photo By: Star Roses & Plants

Photo By: Star Roses and Plants

Photo By: Star Roses & Plants

Photo By: Star Roses and Plants

Knock Out Rose

Here it is, the rose for the rest of us. Since its introduction in 2000, the original Knock Out rose has been one of the best selling landscape plants in the United States. The mid-sized shrub is beloved because it made rose-growing easy. The Knock Out produces single petal red roses continuously for nine months, no deadheading required. And its resistance to black spot, that slayer of roses, is legendary. Its popularity led Star Roses and Plants to develop a dozen varieties of Knock Out roses in a range of colors, sizes and growth habits.

The Double Knock Out Rose

Meet the most popular rose in the United States, the Double Knock Out. Its full, double flowers look just like classic roses, but the Double Knock Out can be grown with a lot less hassle. The shrub is famously resistant to black spot, the disease that has ended the life of many a rose bush. It produces cherry red blooms on a shrub that grows to 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It's a little more winter hardy than the original Knock Out rose, able to survive Zone 5 winters.

Pink Double Knock Out Roses

The bubble gum-pink member of the Knock Out rose clan has big, double blooms that can stand up to heat and humidity without fading or wilting. Pink Double Knock Outs are very drought tolerant once established, so they're a good pick for hot climates that wither a weaker rose. Shrubs grow to 4 feet tall, producing mounds of bright pink blooms continuously from spring to fall.

Petite Knock Out Rose

The Petite Knock Out Rose produces fire engine-red blooms that are just 1-1/2 inches in diameter on a compact shrub that grows just 18 inches tall and wide. Developed in 2020 by Star Roses and Plants, this mighty little plant packs the same disease-resistance as its bigger relatives. Its size lets you use it in landscape designs you can't do with a larger rose.

TIP: Plant a Petite Knock Out in a Pot for a Tabletop Rose Garden

Put a tiny rose garden on a tabletop by planting a Petite Knockout in a pot that's less than 10 inches in diameter. There's something charming about a mass of wee roses, especially when they're Knock Out roses that will actually survive.

TIP: Use Petite Knock Out Roses in Front of a Border

Roses are usually relegated to the middle or back of a mixed border because of their height. Petite Knock Out roses grow just 18 inches tall, so you can use them at the front of the border for a line of brilliant red blooms.

TIP: Use a Double Knock Out Rose as a Specimen Plant

A single Double Knock Out rose bush makes a lovely centerpiece in a curved, raised bed. Since it will be covered in blooms for up to nine months, it will be a strong focal point in a yard or garden.

TIP: Use a Row Of Double Knock Out Roses to Define an Edge

Plant Double Knock Out roses in a row to delineate the edge of a yard from the adjacent woodland. You'll get a short wall of color from spring till fall, with roses blooming long after the other flowers of summer have gone.

Pink Knock Out Rose

This rose has single petals, just like the original, but it's bright pink. Pollinators love single flowers because they can reach the bloom's pollen more easily, so this Knock Out is a good pick for a butterfly or wildlife garden. It's a good companion shrub for perennials, other shrubs and annuals. And like its kin, it's resistant to black spot and drought tolerant.

Peachy Knock Out Rose

Peach roses symbolize gratitude, according to the people who decide these things. You'll be grateful for how easy it is to grow Peachy Knock Out roses. Like the rest of their family, they are disease-resistant, so you'll get roses, not a shrub dying from black spot. Peachy Knock Out roses are shell pink with a pale yellow center. Shrubs grow to 3 feet high so they can be used in the middle of a border. They're among the most cold-hardy of the Knock Out rose family, able to survive Zone 4 winters.

Sunny Knock Out Rose

While most of the other Knock Outs sacrificed the classic rose scent for disease-resistance, the Sunny Knock Out smells sweet and resists black spot. It also has a more upright habit, growing to 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide, so it's not as low and mounding as its kin. That makes it a good pick as a back-of-the-border plant.

White Knock Out Rose

The single white blooms of this Knock Out rose stand out sharply against the deep green leaves of its shrub, making it a great pick for a specimen plant in a garden. Or plant this 3-1/2 foot tall shrub in rows for a low hedge or a well-behaved foundation planting. Like its Knock Out kin, it blooms continuously from spring to fall and doesn't need to be dead-headed. Once established, it's drought tolerant and cold-hardy to Zone 4. Pollinators like these roses, too, because their flat faces make nice landing pads.

Rainbow Knock Out Rose

With single blooms in coral pink with yellow centers, the Rainbow Knock Out looks like an old-fashioned rose. But it's a member of the Knock Out family and has all the disease resistance and drought hardiness that make Knock Outs so popular. Those single blooms make it appealing to hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators, so it's a good choice for a butterfly or wildlife garden. Shrubs grow to just 3 feet tall, so it's compact enough to plant in the middle of a border or even in a large container.

Blushing Knock Out Rose

This pale pink member of the Knock Out rose family grows just 3 feet to 4 feet tall and just as wide. It can bloom in shady spots that get as little as three hours of sun per day, but is at its floweriest when it gets six to eight hours of sun a day. Like all Knock Outs, it has storied disease resistance.

Coral Knock Out Rose

Meet the orange member of the Knock Out rose family, the Coral Knock Out. This compact shrub produces clusters of coral-hued double blooms up to 2-1/2 inches in diameter that are their brightest in hot, humid climates. Coral Knock Out shrubs grow to 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide, so they're a medium-sized plant that can be used for the back of a border or planted in masses for a low hedge. Like all Knock Out roses, Coral Knock Outs are disease-resistant and bloom continuously from spring to fall.

TIP: Prune a Knock Out Rose Into a Topiary

Knock Out rose bloom's are tough enough to handle being pruned into a globe-shaped rose topiary. Since they bloom continuously, you'll get blooms the same season you prune the shrub. If you're not up to a DIY topiary, you can buy Knock Out roses already shaped into tree-like topiaries at many nursuries.

Knock Out Rose Varieties

Related To:

Shop This Look

Knock Out Rose

The Double Knock Out Rose

Pink Double Knock Out Roses

Petite Knock Out Rose

TIP: Plant a Petite Knock Out in a Pot for a Tabletop Rose Garden

TIP: Use Petite Knock Out Roses in Front of a Border

TIP: Use a Double Knock Out Rose as a Specimen Plant

TIP: Use a Row Of Double Knock Out Roses to Define an Edge

Pink Knock Out Rose

Peachy Knock Out Rose

Sunny Knock Out Rose

White Knock Out Rose

Rainbow Knock Out Rose

Blushing Knock Out Rose

Coral Knock Out Rose

TIP: Prune a Knock Out Rose Into a Topiary

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