Feb 13, 2004

Members’ Choice AwardSource: American Rose Society

The American Rose Society (ARS) has selected the Knock Out rose as the first recipient of its newly created Member’s Choice award. Hybridized by William J. Radler of Greenfield, Wis., this striking red standout was introduced by The Conard-Pyle Company in 2000.

Knock Out was selected by ARS members after an extensive review of all roses introduced in the last three years. Members rated the roses on garden performance and ease of maintenance and gave Knock Out the highest score.

This is the first year ARS has awarded the Members’ Choice, but its 20,000 members have been reviewing and reporting on new roses for years. ARS created the award to inform people about roses that are easy to grow and beautiful in the garden.

“That’s why Knock Out was the perfect choice for the first ARS Members’ Choice,” says Marilyn Wellan, president of ARS. “It stood out heads above the rest in all parts of the country, including hot and cold climates.”

Wellan says the rose society is looking for the same qualities in a rose that the general public wants. “Roses don’t have to be hard to grow,” she says. “Knock Out requires little to no attention and is a great landscape bush, almost always in bloom and disease resistant. It’s impressive either as a single specimen or in a mass planting, and it’s red, and red captures our attention.”

Knock Out blooms continuously from May until a hard frost, is clothed in lush foliage, is disease and insect resistant, and shows an amazing adaptability to a broad range of soil types. It does well in heat and humidity and even blooms well in drought, and blooms in full sun and even partial shaded.