I've seen these harmless rosebushes insulted because they're "too common" (i.e. popular). Another frequent complaint is that they are devoid of fragrance (though 'Sunny' certainly does have a scent). Some think they're gaudy-- too bright, too bold, too many flowers. (Ok, if you say so...)
Then there are those who say the Knock Out rose has no "soul". That merits a head-tilt and a hearty laugh. It's a plant... Now, if they mean that it doesn't have a fascinating, storied history going back centuries-- no romantic French name-- no pedigree-- they may have a point. But a soul? I guess I'm not poetic enough to take someone seriously when they talk of roses having or lacking a soul. (That's the nice response; the grumpy one is "Don't be ridiculous!" or similar.)
Look, I love interesting and unique plants, and I loooove plants that appeal to my sense of smell-- but not every plant has to have an elaborate "history", and sometimes even fragrant roses don't perfume the garden as much as you might hope. No plant can be all things to all people. I'm happy to try old-fashioned roses as the opportunity presents itself, but I can't deny the appeal of a rose that blooms a lot and is generally so easy to grow.
Why can't we like all kinds of roses? Why get nasty toward the Knock Outs? (Don't believe people can actually be mean-spirited toward roses? I distinctly remember reading someone's opinion that the yellow 'Sunny' rose blooms, which fade to pale cream as they age, look like used Kleenex. Gross.)
Anyway, I'll step down from the soapbox, now that I've said my piece. ;o)
They say that living well is the best revenge. My garden-blog method of avenging these poor, maligned plants will be posting a bazillion photos of some of our KO roses. (Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!)
Some of these roses do need cutting back. I've missed the pruning window a couple of years in a row, now. Either the winter is too warm or I just can't decide when to do it, but I must manage it next winter, because some of them are starting to take over. In the meantime, maybe I'll do a smaller prune here and there to keep the path clear.
(I haven't updated the blog in a while, but I've been taking photos, so now I'm working my way through the backlog. The photos in this post were taken in the past month or two-- probably sometime in April.)
