Normally, I would not include any of the David Austin English Roses in the category of “Easy Care” roses. In fact, a lovely photo of leaves scarred by the sawfly larva coming up next week for “Wordless Wednesday” and it is in my existing bed of David Austin Roses. It’s a problem I’ve had with them for some time. It doesn’t keep me from growing them–it just keeps me from enjoying them to the fullest at their peak bloom, so I consider that a major drawback.

I was visiting a local garden center recently and came across two new varieties, the one I show above, Darcey Bussell, and Lady Emma Hamilton. Now since David Austin comes out with new roses every year, I gave them a passing glance and went on to get what I needed.

A few days later, I came across this post on Gardenrant about some David Austin roses that Elizabeth Licata had tried last year. For her they had proved to be disease resistant and continuous bloomers–just the thing I look for in an “easy care” rose. To my surprise, they were the same roses my garden center was offering. I ran back for the Darcey Bussell (who was a British ballerina–I looked her up) because it fit the color scheme of the other “easy care” roses I was testing this year.

From the moment I put the rose in the car (even before, really, because I’ve always adored the David Austin roses) I was in love. All the way home, I could smell this rose–that’s right this rose actually has a scent! Right there, that makes it different from every other rose I’ll discuss this month.

In addition, its blooms are larger and more “rose-like” in structure. In fact, they almost look like the old-fashioned cabbage roses.

They’re still not suitable as cut flowers because they are rarely borne on single stems–like most shrub roses, they are borne in clusters. But for me, that’s okay–more roses to love.

If this rose is half as good as promised, it will be fabulous. Now if I can just keep those pesky sawflies from finding it….

Conard-Pyle, the same company that brought Knock Out to market introduced Drift® groundcover roses. These are shortest roses, overall, of all the rose series; in fact they are sold as groundcover roses. This has to do partly with their parentage, which is part groundcover rose and part miniature rose.

This is my first year trying a Drift® rose. Like Knockout®, they too come in 7 colors but their colors are softer colors of pink, apricot and rose. There is also a white, sold as Popcorn Drift.® The full range of colors can be seen on the marketer’s web site, here.

Because this is my first year, I can’t tell you ultimately how this rose will behave for me (This is Drift Red–I tried to choose roses in complimentary colors and the Spoiler likes red, so this was an easy one). Thus far it has been pest and disease resistant for 2 months in a pot–that’s really saying something considering that it is relatively crowded (both in the pot and close to the other roses).

Ultimately, I don’t know whether it will prove to fend off the rose sawfly larva and Japanese beetles as well as Knock Out does. Knock Out’s leaves are thicker than any of the other roses I’ll talk about over this month-long discussion. I don’t know if that’s what makes it so resiliant–but I’m sure it can’t hurt!

So far what I can tell you is that I’m not fond of the way the dying roses look in combination with those just opening. I’ve been clipping them out–and that doesn’t really make them “easy care,” now does it?

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And I promised a bit about the "trademarking" of roses. This really has to do with the trademarking or patenting of all plants, generally. If you think back to my post of June 3, you might have paid no attention to the fact that each rose was in a distinctive pot: Knock Out was in a lime green pot with its name and Star Roses on the side; Drift was in a white pot that said Drift groundcover roses and the David Austin rose was in a tall, dark green pot with gold lettering and its name on it–very elegant. I've linked to that post here so you can go back to check if you care to.

Rose growers are not the only ones trademarking their plants. Probably the most recognized trademark out there is Proven Winners–I know you all have seen the white pots in various sizes with the big PW on the side. Annuals, perennials and shrubs all bear the PW logo.

Great, but what does it mean? Pretty simply, it means that these are all patented plants and reproduction is prohibited–in plain english, that means you can’t take a cutting or root a part of these plants and share them with fellow gardeners or sell them at your neighborhood or garden club plant sale.

I talk about this a lot because as gardeners, we are some of the most generous people on the planet. If someone comes to the garden and admires a plant and we have more than enough to share, we do it! And right now, there are no “plant police” prohibiting this practice.

But do take care with these patented plants–because legally you are not supposed to be sharing them at all, even with fellow gardeners.

And since more and more plants are coming to market as patented trademarked plants, it’s gardener beware!

Probably the best selling series of roses to ever hit the market is also one of the best “easy care” roses on the market. Even if you know nothing about roses and have never wanted to plant one, you’ve seen this rose because it is planted in all sorts of public spaces–gas stations, strip mall parking lots, highway medians–it’s almost inescapable. Its popularity doesn’t prevent it from being a great rose, however. I am talking about the series of roses sold under the trademark name Knock out®. This rose, with its deep green foliage and repeat bloom–often the shrub is in bloom all summer long–is everything it was promised to be.

The original Knock out® was developed by a man named Bill Radler. He sold the development rights to the Conard-Pyle company and 6 more roses with the Knock Out® name have been developed. Most are either in the red or pink/hot pink range and are variations on that theme (single and double blooms) but there is also a yellow available, sold as Sunny Knock Out®. (The second photo above is of Sunny Knock Out) The full color range can be viewed on the Conard Pyle web site, here.

I have grown every rose in the Knock Out® line. While some of my other shrub roses can be plagued by black spot and a pest of roses known as the rose sawfly larva (a little caterpillar-like creature too complicated to talk about here–but see this post) my Knock Out® roses are never troubled by anything. Even when an occasional Japanese beetle lands on them, the beetles soon move on!

The two most frequent critiques that I hear about these roses is that they have no fragrance (true) and that they don’t have that true rose form (mostly true–they look like an old fashioned single rose, if anything, but surely not like a hybrid tea).

They also would not be suitable for cutting, generally, because like all shrub roses, they bear their flowers in clusters and on short stems.

Interestingly enough, the grower says it will be a 3-4′ rose. Obviously they anticipate you pruning it. Without pruning, it has gotten much taller for me–and shows no signs of stopping.

But for a rose that’s hardy to zone 5 that I don’t have to give any extra attention to, that doesn’t get pests and diseases, that I don’t have to deadhead–I’ll definitely put up with a few minor drawbacks!

In early May I lectured to the Town & Country Garden Club of Newtown about roses. It was quite a kick to hear myself introduced as a rose expert. I’m sure the folks at Elizabeth Park would beg to differ–but I digress.

My topic was Easy Care Roses–because I often speak of myself as the laziest gardener on the planet. That’s not quite true, but I am one of the most time-pressed gardeners that I know.

I also don’t believe in coddling plants. And of course I don’t believe in any chemical pesticides or fungicides.

But I love roses–and for awhile I thought that I wouldn’t be able to grow any. Then I found the shrub roses that at least resisted the need to be winter protected. My earliest ones weren’t exactly “easy care” in the sense that they didn’t get insects or disease that disfigured them–but they came roaring right back after infestation, grew less than 2′ from the road (in that same bed with the lilac I posted about last week–they too withstood snowplow damage!) and can withstand they heavy wet snow that the snowplows throw at them all winter along. What more could I want?

A lot actually. There are some trademarked roses that do even more. You see one of my favorites, above, along with a couple of new ones that I’m testing under some extreme conditions this summer. I’ll talk about each individually over the next month (as well as the practice of “trademarking” roses and what that means for gardeners, generally).

I’ll be lecturing again in August, again on Easy Care Roses, down in North Stonington. I’ll be bringing these same roses (I hope). That will be the ultimate test. If a rose can survive in a container and look good all summer, that means it really is “easy care.” We’ll see.