Is your QE potted or planted in the ground? If it's potted, it probably needs some fresh soil, and more than likely, a much larger pot. If your "summer heat" has started, the rose receives the water, food and light it requires, it should be bursting out in growth and bloom. Something is amiss and I'm not sure what, yet. Kim

I have QE and she is a bit of a slow starter for me too. I haven't found her to be the most vigorous of roses. Mine has leafed out but doesn't have a bud yet. Where as everything else is nearly ready to pop open by now. I think she is a warm weather rose and maybe it hasn't been warm enough for long enough where you are to get her started.

rose in the ground, gets about 8 hours morning sun, somewhat shade in the afternoon. So do I fertilize now or wait, we've been getting plenty of rain so I haven't been watering. It's been warming up right sharply here, so......Pembroke

If there is no foliage yet I'd wait to fertilize until it begins to leaf out. If it's only just recently started to warm up, like it has here, then it may just now be starting to grow. If it doesn't show any growth soon it may be dead or have some other problem going on below ground.

seil: would you prune now. The rose is about 3ft tall. Top of major branches spindly, like a floribunda that has just dropped all it's blooms. The leaves that are on now are the ones that was on early Spring. The leaves are a light green with light brown speckles on them. Any hints or help appreciated. Pembroke

Did you prune it this spring? In your zone you should be pruning them in April. At this point I'd wait and prune it after, and if, it blooms. For now you want to leave all the leaves and cane it has to feed the plant. There is stored energy in them. It really would help if you could post a picture of it.

here is picture. hope this helps

Thanks, Pembroke, that does help. I blew it up and from what I can see you had black spot at some point and that's why it lost all it's leaves. It may have been last fall. You should have pruned it back in April like I said before but for now I'd just take off all those brown tips that look like dead wood and some of those very small laterals. Leave all the thicker canes alone. I took your picture and marked some of the canes I mean. Take off the small ones marked in blue "X"s and leave the larger ones marked in red "X"s. I didn't mark them all but that should give you some idea of which ones I mean. Otherwise, like you said, the canes look green and alive. The only thing you can do is keep it watered and wait and see what happens. Hope this helps!

Thanks: we'll see what happens. Pembroke

I grow Queen Elizabeth here in N. Texas, and from my experience she enjoys a properly brutal pruning. Try deep watering her, pruning her down, and administering a weak liquid fertilizer. It may be that she is simply using the nutrients to create a stronger root system; often times I find that my roses may not be growing above ground because they are growing below ground.

My QE grows to become a monstrosity, and has breached the 7' threshold already before the summer has hit. Don't lose faith, she's a hardy one.

Thanks JoshTx. makes me feel better about this rose. As the picture shows , I'll be pruning tonight. Thanks. Pembroke