I can't speak for zone 5, but here in my zone 6, I grow two Double KOs. One is in full day sun, the other in a bit too much shade (but I had no other place left to plant it!). Main difference is that the one in the sun comes into bloom sooner and produces somewhat more blooms and recovers for re-blooming more quickly. Not a lot of difference, but the difference is noticeable.

Neither is winter protected, except accidentally. The one in sunshine gets some leaf cover from oak leaves blown over from the neighbor's 4 oak trees. The one in the shady spot is in a very exposed situation where any leaf that tried to land would be promptly blown away. I don't really see the degree of protection affecting them. They are both quite hardy.

I really don't remember if they are grafted or not, and there is no way to tell now since I always bury grafts 1-2 inches. I remember they were potted, but that's it. I personally have never noticed any difference between own-root and grafted after the first year or so--unless you are getting those dinky little "bands" from Heirloom. Might take them quite a while to catch up.

I kinda like having some swaths of identical roses blooming together also, though in my smaller yard that is more likely to be more like a hedgerow.

3 Queens of Sweden

Or 3 red Eutin floribundas scattered out periodically over the same bed to provide some continuity of color.

Hope that helps. : )

Kate

That was helpful Kate thanks. I also like to repeat a rose that does well here in a bed. That's also what I do with perennials. Do really love a swath of same color. Beautiful photos by the way, I'm lucky to have seen your garden grow over the many years.

Duh, Home Run was breed by Tom Caruth. I had assumed from it's release that it was a Radler rose. Have a habit of calling it such sorry.

When KO was originally released, they were own root, even the potted plants. I'm not clear on the question, though. Is it that you have tried KOs on their own roots and they have failed? In any case, Chamblee has Double KO as an own root.

Mine that I had own root did not seem vigorous or at least they were much shorter than I expected. I'm still looking this up. The one I interested in is double pink knockout I have ordered 3 from Chamblees. I hope that they are not prone to mildew. This is mildew heaven here.

Different climate (NC 8a) but I have two Double Pink KOs and they have not been bothered by BS. I just got them in the ground a few months agosince they were end of season close outs, but we have had some serious rain with the storms and they were stressed to begin with. One if them might have some round up damage from my neighbor's zealous spraying of the fence, but it's not from BS.

It is really something to be reading about grafted KOs... everything sold here is own root. I was once told by a reputable source (nursery owner) that the suppliers get them as bands and grow them in the field for a year and then sell them.

Mine must be own root KOs, I bought them in 2009, I didn't know the difference between grafted and own root back then.

Real fast here I need to leave for Champagne. The ones here that I have looked at are indeed grafted as it sticks up above the soil line. Rural King had own root Kordes rose but their knockouts were grafted. So was Menards but their Drift, Easy Elegance and Home and Garden roses were own root. Wal Mart has grafted everything. Home depot gets their roses from Mea's Nursery knock outs grafted Flower Carpet and Kordes roses were own root. I don't get it either. Does any one know is Lowes sells them own root as they get theirs from Monrovia. Monrovia has no mention of own root on their site.

All mine were from Lowe's, I will take a look this weekend......

I'm in zone 6a so one full zone warmer than you Patty...Our Double Knockouts are own-root. Normally we have 12"-20+" cane left after winters... They grow to 3-4ft by 3-4ft wide during the season...

After the 3rd year I start removing 1/3 of the oldest canes so the rosebushes always have fresh flowering canes...I notice a lot of Ko's around here the canes are all brown and barky with some declining performance after so many years..

No rose grows or performs well everywhere for one reason or another...

short Radler video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie2IgHyPGGE

Thank you summer, I'm guessing here that they can sell more KO's if they are grafted.

Jim and Summer do either of you see mildew on your knockouts. That would be my main concern. Yes, how true about roses, Thanks for the video thats how I plant my roses. Carol from Northland Roses used to recommend this way and Paul Zimmerman said he buries all his deeper than they were in the pot. He's in a warmer zone than we are so I started doing that as well. I've had good luck planting this way.

By the way I see he's holding an own root plant.

No powdery mildew here Patty on D. Ko's...But that's here...

I'll remember the caution Jim thanks.

Mom got one of the original KOs when it first came out. It did well for many years, although it DID black spot in my garden, but the last two winters finally did it in. It was a big, tall bushy plant going into the winter of 2013 but came out cut to the graft. It did grow back fairly well last summer but not to anywhere near it's former size. Last winter it died completely. I was sorry to see it go because it had sentimental value because it was one of the last roses Mom purchased.

I don't recall ever seeing any PM on it but, as I said, it did BS here just like the rest of my roses. It was grafted and the graft was not buried, Mom never did that, and most winters it got NO protection other than what ever leaves happened to blow into the bed in the fall. It was a pretty hardy, vigorous rose all in all. It just couldn't take that double whammy of winters.

My Rainbow KO has PM now, at the end of season, other kinds of KOs have no PM at all. :-)

Good to hear the pm reports thanks seil and summer. In the quite chilly air that has settled in now most of my roses have a little pm on the new growth. I was thinking of cutting off some of the tender ends as they will soon wilt and darken. I'm being good this year and listening to seil no pruning till spring. I do want to trim off these wispy ends thou.I'm trying both double Pink Knockout and Pink Home Run. Wonder what winter will be like this year?

Hopefully we get a mild winter Patty but who knows?