Looks like one of the 'Knockout' series. I have two 'Blushing KOs' and can tell you some pros and cons. Con: They readily hit 6' by 6'. This is OK for me, but not OK if you want something that tops out at 3 or 4 feet. I don't know what kind of shape they would have if you tried to keep them pruned, but without pruning, they tend to have a pleasant shape with flowers all the way to the ground. They tend to produce quite a few stems where the flower color reverts to the screaming magenta of the first 'KO' variety. I don't much like that color, but it's a matter of taste. No fragrance. Pro: Without a doubt, Feature No. 1 is the robust health of the plant. Leaves remain shiny and fresh all summer long. No disease at all. Zero. The thing blooms all summer. A bit of a downer if Japanese beetles are a pest in your area, but really nice in the autumn. Mine bloom right into the cool weather. It holds foliage until well into the autumn, too. Foliage color on new growth is a nice, rich burgundy. It has thorns, but not really awful ones. It doesn't need a lot of special soil care. A couple of shovelfuls of compost or manure in the spring will do the job.

Right, don't fertilize until they have recovered and have put out plenty of leaves. Bloom Buster is the wrong kind of fertilizer--regular Miracle Gro or Miracle Gro for Roses is fine, or any reasonably balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 18-6-12. Watering correctly is the most important thing. Keep a 2" mulch of leaves or bark around the roses. When the soil under the mulch feels dry-ish, water thoroughly with 2-3 gallons for small plants or 5 gallons for larger, plus or minus for extremely hot or very mild, cloudy weather. Usually once a week is fine. For new plants, I divide the ration in half and water twice a week.

Hi Molly, has there been anything else which has grown in this spot without issue? I'm trying to see if there might be another potential reason. If other plants have grown there easily, and not been allelopathic (such as Oleander, Walnut, etc.), it shouldn't be soil related. Do you have moles, voles or gophers? What grows on the other side of the property line from the hedge of roses? Is there a fence or other type of wall which might be reflecting or radiating any heat? Are the plants shrinking or just not taking off and growing to your satisfaction? Do they look stressed or are they just remaining small? What kind of soil are they growing in? Is it sandy or does it otherwise possibly drain too quickly? Have you dug test holes along the line to determine if the hickory is invading the rose line and robbing water and other resources? Have you tried increasing the water to see what, if any, responses you get from the roses? Could it be too hot, too brilliant sun for too long duration inhibiting the roses? Are these budded plants or own roots? You are aware that own root Tea roses can be devilishly slow to start? Many people plant them expecting them to explode into growth like a traditional budded HT and they simply aren't going to do that. What size plants were they when planted in the ground in your hedge? Neither you nor your neighbor have dogs which could be "watering" your roses, do you? There are many possibilities to consider, from your tree being the culprit; to too much heat/sun; insufficient water due to soil type or heat/sun levels; animal interference from critters to dog urine; possible soil contamination from allelopathic plants previously growing there to chemicals or paints having been dumped into the soil; drainage issues either into or away from your hedge row; even possible premature impatience with the plants, not giving them sufficient time to develop. How long were the offenders given to perform before being replace; what size plants were they when put into the ground? Have you fertilized them with anything? Wm Allen Richardson is a Tea-Noisette, a climbing plant. It can be more vigorous than the bush types, growing taller, faster, but it can take a long time to develop into the size of climbing plant you desire. The others are bushes, judging from their names and no mention being made that any of them are their climbing forms. There is more at work here than potential hickory tree root interference. You describe it as "failure to thrive" rather than "died". I'm wondering if your definition of "thrive" might be a bit impatiently unrealistic for these types of roses, particularly if they began life as small, own root plants? Kim

I agree - plant it now. The winter precipitation will help it grow lots of roots, so that it can really take off in the Spring when the sun comes back out. Here in No Cal, Fall is prime planting season for everything - roses, trees, other bushes, etc. The only problem I have planting in the Fall or early Winter is bulbs - they tend to come right up in 2-4 weeks instead of waiting for Spring! Jackie