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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

THE YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS

Maybe there is another yellow rose that does well in Texas. After all there really should be. Even as I child growing up in England we had a little song about the yellow rose of Texas and the man from Laramie who went to David Crocket's to have a cup of tea!!

This rose is a recent introduction. It is one of the Knockout roses, rosa 'radsunny'

The buds open to a clear yellow flower which carries a lemony fragrance. The bush is more upright in growth and not quite so vigorous in growth as the other knockout roses but still carries all those wonderful properties of disease resistance.

The plant weathered our extreme summer temperatures and now that cooler days and nights are here it is putting on quite a show.

The flowers fade to white with pink markings. Yesterday I took several cuttings which I dipped in rooting hormone and stuck in the ground in a sheltered spot. Hopefully they will root over the winter and I will have more "sunnys" in the garden next year.

12 comments:

  1. Oh, Jenny, I'm so glad I read this post! I just purchased a Sunny knockout for myself for my recent birthday gift to me. I had no idea I could root it so easily and create more of them. Since it is such a new plant, it isn't blooming right now, but I can't wait for next spring to see those wonderful yellow blooms. And thanks to you, perhaps I'll have them now in more than one location. Thanks!

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  2. What a lovely rose - good luck with your propagation plans!

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  3. I just moved my 'Radsunny' to a sunnier spot, out from under the runaway cleome, so I hope to have more flowers soon.

    Annie in Austin seems to have good luck with 'Julia Child,' another yellow.

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  4. Speaking of the old yellow rose song, my understanding is that it's about a mulatto woman, coded as "yellow rose." Click here for the interesting story, which I've seen other places too: http://www.rockremembers.com/2009/05/yellow-rose-of-texas-1836-western-folk.html

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  5. Lemony fragrance, yum. I have a couple of Knockouts and have been very impressed with their disease resistance.

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  6. Hi RR.
    I really need to get at least one rose, my oldest is always on at me to get some "pretty" plants. On seeing me type this, she came over, saw your pictures and said "Why don't you have some pretty flowers daddy?" Now that my neighbor has two roses flanking his driveway It looks like I am about to venture into the rose world! I also have really begun to like the silver agave combined the pink or red rose aesthetic.

    Good luck with the new plants...
    ESP.

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  7. get grounded- I know you will love this rose and I don't think it is ever going to need the pruning that the other ones require to keep them in check. Usually you take cuttings from a shoot that has flowered but I'm really not sure why.

    Pam- I had forgotten that Lucinda had Julia Child. I'm hoping to buy a rose at the ARE this weekend. It will have to be fragrant though. Thanks for the link. Amazing what we learn every day. I remember there were endless westerns when i was young, Wagon Train, Laramie, Cheyenne, Bonanza. We were all hooked on them.

    Sweet bay-They really are disease resistant. I hate having to deal with black spot.

    ESP- The Knockouts are really the only trouble free ones. We saw a lovely pink one on the MG tour. It was so English looking, like a dog rose. No scent though.

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  8. Oh, how lovely! The fragrance alone would be enough for me, but the bloom is beautiful. Another one to put on my list.

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  9. The Julia Child has been pretty tough, Jenny, but your Radsunny knockout is tempting me to stuff in another yellow rose somewhere.

    We watched all the westerns, too - loved Maverick, Have Gun Will Travel, Black Saddle etc., and knew the song from childhood, but I think a pop song from the sixties, "18 Yellow Roses" was the reason Philo gave them to me when we were dating.
    The Graham Thomas we grew in IL was very beautiful, too.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  10. I hope someone here can help me.
    We (actually a landscaper) planted 4 yellow Knockouts in our yard this summer. They did great...lush green growth and lots of beautiful yellow blooms. But, this fall I just noticed they look bad....lots of new healthy (leggy) growth loaded with blooms...but the original part of the plants have lost almost all their leaves and the leaves that are left are yellow with black spots.
    Is it to late to treat them? If so, how ?
    Thanks so much !

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  11. Jane, your post "We (actually a landscaper) planted 4 yellow Knockouts in our yard this summer "
    could be too much water. i usually don't water the roses because if i do i get black spot. once they are established they dont need add'l water, maybe yours are on the sprinkler system
    Brigitte, North Florida

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  12. Hi Jane- Just got back from a 4 week trip and saw your question about the Yellow Knockout. I am surprised that this rose has what sounds like blackspot. I have never seen this on the ko rose. Are you watering from above? All mine are on drips.Roses on too much water usually exhibit yellowing of the leaves which then drop off. I also have one red ko rose which received too much water while I was away this summer and and it has lost most of its leaves. I have cut it back but fear it is too late. Hope it is not so in your case.

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