Sara Moran is a Horticulture Extension Agent for Ector and Midland Counties. Below, she provides readers with practical tips and resources to help their gardens and gardening efforts flourish in Midland.

What to know: Are your Knock Out roses losing their blooms? While we can’t give an exact answer to their status without knowing where the roses are growing or details about irrigation, fertilization, and soil, we can give some pointers. Here are common reasons roses drop blooms, and what that looks like on Knock Out roses in Midland.

The big picture: Midland summers routinely sit well above 85°F, and long stretches over 95–100°F are normal. Knock Outs are among the toughest landscape roses for Texas, but they still slow down in that heat. Above about 85°F, the plant conserves water and energy.

Petals can drop faster, flushes get shorter, and new buds may abort. This is often a sign of heat stress, not a dying plant. In West Texas, they usually bloom hardest in spring and again when nights cool in fall, with a thinner midsummer show.

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Midland rain is unreliable. Humidity is low and dries beds quickly. Drought stress can show up as:

  • Wilting and curling — leaves lose turgor (inside water pressure) and roll inward, droop, or wilt
  • Disrupted growth — fewer flowers, smaller leaves, slower flushes
  • Early senescence — older leaves yellow or turn crispy at the edges and drop

Go deeper: What can I do?

  • Water deeply — Knock Outs are fairly drought-tolerant once established, but “drought-tolerant” does not mean no water. In Midland heat, they still need a deep soak when the soil is dry several inches down. Water deeply, not daily. Water at the base, about 45-90 minutes of dripping or a low stream a week in summer if a heat wave lasts several days over 95°F.
  • Soil and mulch — Midland soil is often alkaline, caliche-heavy, and either tight clay or fast-draining sand. Knock Outs prefer well-drained soil. Compost mixed into the planting hole and a 2–3 inch mulch ring cools roots, holds moisture, and softens that soil.
  • Fertilizer in this climate — Skip heavy feeding in July and August. High nitrogen in 100°F weather pushes soft growth that burns and can mean fewer quality blooms. Feed in early spring and again in early fall when the plant can use it.

The bottom line: A Midland Knock Out that is watered at the base, mulched, and planted in full sun (six hours or more) should keep foliage and come back into bloom when temperatures ease. If the whole plant is wilting, leaves are crispy, and new growth has stopped, check irrigation depth before assuming disease.

Supporting the plant with deep watering and mulch is the most useful thing you can do in Midland’s hot, dry stretches. Water at the base so it actually reaches the soil, and keep a mulch layer around the plant to hold cool, even moisture.