alleged drought resistance is on an established plant ... all recent transplants must be watered heavily and deeply until establishment ... second ITS NEARLY AUGUST ... maybe discounted plants should be left potted in the shade UNTIL PROPER PLANTING TIME IN September.. when the days are shorter.. the nights are longer ... oh the days dwindle down.. to a precious few.. September... oh... where have all the hogie Carmichael's gone .. anyway i digress..... lol .. here is the words running through my head: Oh, its a long, long while from May to December, But the days grow short when you reach September. When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame one hasn't got time for the waiting game. Oh the days dwindle down to a precious few September November And these few precious days I'll spend with you. These precious days I'll spend with you. --- and i see it wasn't Carmichael.. its on willie nelsons stardust.. but i am seriously digressing.. i wish this typewriter had a delete button .... rotf ... anyway ... what tree is it under .. you know my thoughts on maples ... how dry was the soil when you planted it.. how hot has it been since you ripped it from the pot ... how many roots did you cut through before you got a hole big enough for it .... etc ... sorry about the perennial forum .... lol ... good luck .. water the bee gee bees out of them .... ken

I went out and checked around the bases of them and nothing seems to be disturbed or out of place. There has been a lot of stray cats around the neighborhood this summer, but I don't see any evidence of them digging back there to do their business. My backyard is also completely fenced in with four foot high chain link fence, and there is no gate. Entry is only possible from the garage or directly through the house. I hand weed around all of the bushes and trees out back, so no trunk damage.

Thanks Daren. I just found one lying there on the ground and when I picked it up it was not connected to the root system anymore. I fished around and there were some roots but nothing seemed significant to me. The reason I don't think it's cutworm however is that it takes a very long time for the plant to go from "nice" to "flat", and we even had one rebound briefly from "wilted" to "nice" and then to "flat".

I'm thinking underwatering for the pots is the culprit, although overwatering can also cause the yellow leaf symptoms, though usually not so quickly here. Agree with Mad, going with heat stress & find it nearly impossible to overwater a potted rose in active growth as long as the pot size is adequate, the potting mix good & drainage holes functioning. Like Valrose, potted roses here are watered at least once a day & often twice when the day temps get to 80 & above. I water each one & then go back & water each again to make sure they're thoroughly watered each time. If we get a soaking rain, I skip the watering. Hot days after cooler ones increase water needs here. And it's not only the warmer temps, but the greater intensity of sunlight every year that affects plants whether potted or planted. In the last few years, plants that were formerly happy in part sun part shade conditions have needed more shade as well, which I also chalk up to the intensity cranking up. With such frequent watering of pots, I subscribe to the "weakly weekly" fertilizing routine, using Neptune's Harvest liquid at half rates for larger plants & quarter rates for younger ones, on a second watering of the day. A good bit of rain usually falls here year round, with cloudbursts & storms frequent over the growing season. Though the land is clay based loam, the roses were never more lush & happy than a recent Summer when storms came by daily. Agree with Mad here again, in those circumstances, even with the soil saturated to puddles, no roses (or other plants) seemed to mind at all. What we see as red pigments in rose leaves, such as apparent in new leaves, actually protect the leaf by dissipating heat. Mildew can be brought on by underwatering in heat here, but it's opportunistic, does't bleach leaves & treated by washing the leaves with water wand & making sure the roots have adequate water. Occasionally see older leaves bleach out quickly right ahead of or at the same time as a growth spurt occurs. Just some random thoughts over a late lunch break & likely not well organized, but hopefully food for thought. Are your pots protected from heating up in the sun? I'd water the pots a good bit more, the planted out roses too, and start them on the Neptune's once satisfied their water needs were met daily. The Neptune's also great as a foliar spray applied in early evening when the temp's below 75 & leaf stoma open to absorb it completely. Sue