Deadheading and pruning knockout roses

Question

In response to my original post about my KO roses growing wildly with long stems, I was asked by someone on this thread if I was deadheading them. I couldn’t figure out how to respond to their post, so I made a new one.

Yes, I have been deadheading but was not aware of the 5 leaf thing. I’ve just been cutting off spent blooms and never paid attention to how many leaves were on each stem. So if it has less than 5 leaves, then don’t deadhead? Never had roses before so I want to do this right 🙂

Thanks!

Answer 1

After the rose has bloomed look down the stem to the first group of five leaves and use your pruners to make the cut. It also helps to know what kind of rose you are growing, There are many sites that can give you specific information, for instance The American Rose Society.

Answer 2

One of the people answering in the last thread was not familiar with Knockout roses either. You do not need to deadhead Knockout rosebushes as they are called self-cleaning and there is no need to deadhead them to stimulate new blooms. If the knockout bush is getting taller or wider than you desire for the space, you can prune them up a bit to get them back to the shape you desire. Deadheading the spent blooms down to the first 5-leaf junction with the cane is something we do with other rosebushes but not knockouts. Here are some links for you too:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/knockout-roses/prune-knockout-roses.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/knockout-roses/care-knockout-roses.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/self-cleaning-roses.htm

Stan The Rose Man
Consulting Rosarian
Gardening Know How