Best Knock Out rose varieties – for tumultuously romantic borders and a long season of blooms

As befits their name, 'Knock Out' roses are showstoppers in the garden. A real sensation, well, a knock out, if you like. Loved for their easy opulence and lack of disease, in the capable hands of the gardener, they will flower profusely for months on end from spring to the first frost. Whilst all Knock Out rose varieties are bred to extremely high standards, some are top performers worth keeping your eye on.

Knowing how to care for Knock Out roses is largely very similar to how to care for any other type of rose, though they're so full of vigor, you may find you don't need to fertilize them as much, or even at all, and they will still put on a full-throttle theatrical display all season long.

Within the family tree, there are several different Knock Out rose varieties, some of which stand out as particularly keen flowerers that seem to do nothing but flourish. Here are our top picks for the best Knock Out rose varieties to plant in your flower garden.

Blushing Knock Out

If you are looking for a shrub rose with delicate ballet slipper pink blooms, that flowers without taking a moment's pause, you can stop your search right now.

Getting to about 4 ft high, 'Blushing' is a top performer in every way one might want it to be. It has single to semi-double, perfumed, pale pink flowers that bloom in clusters. It will begin to flower in May and continue throughout summer, fall, and into Christmas and beyond. Once flowering comes to an end, the most beautiful rosehips will appear.

This is the forerunner of the perpetual flowering shrub roses. Despite giving the impression of utmost delicacy, this is a very tough, disease-resistant rose that will flower, come rain or shine.

Hardiness zones: 5-11

Coral Knock Out

If you have a sun-drenched, south-facing plot with a bright and beautiful garden color scheme, then this is the rose to set your sights on.

The leaves are a beautiful deep forest green with a definite bronze tinge. Amongst this are masses of slender flame buds that open into magnificent coral roses.

The coral pigment becomes even stronger in hot climates, so if you are in search of a color that will inject serious quantities of energy and optimism, and live somewhere with long hot days, it's the perfect choice.

The color is quite remarkable, emerging as a bombastic orange and very quickly turning to the most sumptuous coral.

Because this rose is heat tolerant, it is one of the very best plants for a sunny patio or a garden border exposed to non-stop full sun.

Hardiness zones: 5-11

Rainbow Knock Out

This is a far smaller rose, so great for the front of borders or even to add to your garden edging ideas.

It is a compact mounding shrub rose that typically grows to 3-4’ tall, and although it doesn't have a perfume, this particular rose is one of the very best plants for pollinators, seemingly always aflutter with butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.

Planted alongside copious amounts of lavender and guara, your flower border will be choc-full of bees bumbling lazily from flower to flower.

The flowers themselves are a delicate baby pink with a coral center, much like wild roses you often see rambling through hedgerows.

It will begin to flower in early June and continue until the first frost, when it will produce crimson colored rosehips, perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas displays.

Hardiness zones: 4-11

Double Knock Out

The double Knock Out rose is a classic lipstick red rose, seemingly plucked from the pages of a fairytale. Over the months, the blooms turn from a vermilion red to a striking shade of hot pink.

It is beguiling in its unapologetic beauty; there is nothing at all shy about this rose. It lives up to its name in every sense.

It's more winter hardy than the original Knock Out rose, and will tolerate almost anything, with phenomenal disease resistance and a tendency to thrive under any conditions.

Unfazed by the heat, equally as unperturbed by the cold, if you want shrubs that thrive on neglect, this is the front runner. A simple prune once a year and minimal watering will see these roses flower repeatedly from May until the first frost.

Hardiness zones: 4-11

If you're wondering when and how to prune Knock Out roses, its best to wait until late winter or early spring. After pruning, give them a feed (should you be inclined to) and leave them to work their magic.