Rose ‘Double Red Knock Out’

Rose Double Red Knock Out (Rosa 'Radtko') is the rose for gardeners who want the flowers without the fuss. It repeat flowers from spring to autumn, carrying double red blooms over a neat shrub about 1.2m tall and wide, and its disease resistance is strong enough that the usual rose spraying routine simply is not needed. This is a landscape rose: planted like a shrub, treated like a shrub.

Why you'll love it

• Months of colour, not weeks. Flushes of double red flowers keep coming from spring right through to autumn, with only short pauses between rounds.
• No spray program. It is a very disease resistant rose, so black spot and mildew rarely take hold and the foliage stays presentable all season.
• Safe around pets. The plant is not toxic to cats or dogs. The stems are still prickly, which most pets work out exactly once.
• Fast to fill its space. A quick grower that reaches its mature 1.2m frame in short order, so a new border does not look new for long.
• Tough beyond its looks. Frost hardy, and tolerant of heat and drought once established.

Where it works best

Flowering hedges. Plant 1m apart in a single row for a continuous low hedge of red from spring to autumn. It takes clipping without sulking.

Mass planting and borders. Grouped at the same 1m spacing it reads as a single sheet of colour, and the even habit keeps the block tidy.

Pots and feature spots. One plant in a generous pot with drainage flowers for months on a sunny patio, and a pair can flank a gate or path.

Growing Rose Double Red Knock Out in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, at least six hours a day, grows the most flowers and the tightest habit. It performs in subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi arid gardens; the steamy wet tropics are the one climate where even this rose struggles.

Soil. Any reasonable garden soil improved with compost, provided it drains. Mulch well and keep the mulch off the stems.

Water and feed. Water deeply twice a week through the first summer, then taper to occasional deep soaks. Feed with a rose or complete fertiliser in early spring and again in midsummer to fuel the repeat flushes.

Pruning. One cut in late winter, reducing the bush by about a third, resets it for the year. There is no need to deadhead through the season, though a light tidy between flushes speeds the next one.

What to expect when it arrives

We sell this rose as tube stock at $25.95. Tubes arrive small, usually a few stems, but this variety grows fast and typically reaches flowering size in its first proper season. Tube stock also makes hedging and mass planting affordable, which is how the variety is best used. It is a rose that rewards planting in numbers, so plan a full border, a hedge run or a mixed order rather than a single bush.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to plant and maintain a great hedge
• Browse the full rose range
• More plants safe for pets
• Plants for bees and butterflies

Common questions

Do I really not need to spray it?

Under normal garden conditions, no. It is bred for strong disease resistance and black spot and mildew rarely get established. Good air movement and sun keep it that way.

Do I need to deadhead it?

No. It keeps producing new flushes whether or not you remove spent blooms. Deadhead only if you want the bush looking its neatest between rounds.

How far apart for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. The bushes meet within a season or two and flower along the full length of the hedge.

Is it safe for dogs?

The plant itself is not toxic to dogs or cats. The stems do carry prickles, so site it where a boisterous dog is not going to charge through it.