I am in a much different zone than you are. I grow several DA roses and have for years. I grow on own root as my grafted roses pretty much reverted to root stock and I had to dig them out earlier this year. Princess Alexandra of Kent One of my favorites. Gets to be a monster and I think she would rather be a climber in my hot, hot weather. She keeps pumping out blooms even when she get reflected sun and it is 114 degrees outside. I love her huge beautiful blooms. One of Austin's best. She has canes over 8 feet now and I just cut her back a bit to keep her in line. I am expecting great blooms on her until I prune her in late December. I had Sharifa Asma. I loved that rose but she was in the same area as the root stock invasion so she had to go. I probably grew her for about 13 years or longer. She takes a long break between blooms. She doesn't seem to like our heat all that well either. I have no issues with black spot or other diseases where I live so I can't answer any questions re: how she does with them. I also don't spray and grow organically (for what that is worth) She stayed rather small for an Austin here. She was about 3--4 feet wide and about 3 feet tall. The first time I saw her in bloom, I was ready to pull out all my other roses and grow nothing but her. She is that beautiful. Scent to die for too. I miss her a lot. Other DA roses I highly recommend (and remember I am in a very different zone than you are) would be Brother Cadfael (grows very tall and upright), not a great rebloomer and prefers cooler weather than where I live. However, big, beautiful flower and a scent to make you swoon! I would also second Munstead Wood. One of Austin's best. Gets to be big in my climate. Canes are about 5 feet long or so. Blooms when it is hot. He is just something else. Flowers will go from florescent dark pink to maroon depending on how old they are and the time of the year. I am looking at a big bouquet of them as I type and they are the deepest maroon, practically black. Gorgeous! I also love Pretty Jessica. She stays about 4 feet tall and about 2--3 feet wide. Very upright. Great blooms and does well with heat. Good rebloom as well. That is her in the far left in the picture. I have also grown other Austins. I have Lady of Shalott. Not too wild about her, yet. Hasn't really done much of anything, however this is her first year, so I will patiently wait for her to grow up a bit. Very bright orange flowers that I hope will tone down with time. Lady Emma Hamilton couldn't take the heat here and died. Alnwick has not done much of anything, but again, first year, own root. I wish his flowers were bigger. Sister Elizabeth--not much of anything. Looks like she will stay small for an Austin. Again, first year, own root so we will wait and see. Just got Mary Magdalene, so can't say much about her as of yet. Emily--really can't get that rose here anymore. Very small for an Austin. About a foot high and a foot wide. Not good repeat. I keep her for sentimental reasons. Mary Webb--very few nurseries carry her. Small for an Austin. About 3 feet tall and wide. Very pale yellow flowers that fade to white immediately. Not great rebloom either. Ambridge Rose--reverted back to rootstock after 15 years of so. Smallish for an Austin. About 3 feet tall and wide. Great blooms. Not wild about the scent. Fair rebloom. Evelyn--gets to be a bit of a monster here. Tall (about 6 feet or so). Upright. Poor rebloom. Beautiful flowers and a scent to die for. I do miss her as well. She reverted back to rootstock after having her for 10 plus years. Jude the Obscure--is now very obscure. I did not like that fickle rose. Rarely bloomed here. Nothing to write home about. Never did see what the hoopla was all about for that rose. He is out of my garden. Peach Blossom--a nice pink semi double. Always the first to bloom and the last to bloom in my yard. Makes great hips and a great rose. Loved her. A bird decided to plant another plant in the middle of her so unfortunately, she also had to go this year. She was very pretty. So those are my run down. Heritage was also beautiful but couldn't take my heat. Good luck with whatever roses you decide to get.

Can you show a photo(s), of more of the affected cane, especially from where it emerges. Right now from the looks of things the cane is dying. Cut off the cane below the bottom dead shoot and see what the pith looks like. If it is any color other than an even creamy white its death is confirmed. Canes can die slowly and in this case it may have begun dying a while back and only showed signs now. If the rest of the bush looks good, its no big deal. Canes die for one reason or another all the time. You don't know the history of the bush before you purchased it, and most likely the affected cane came damaged and was destined to die before you got it. Sick canes will often grow shoots only to abort them and then die themselves. Again, if the rest of the bush is in good condition you're OK.

OK, since they sound like they are repeat bloomers then now would be about the right time to prune in SoCal. I would start with just taking out any and all dead wood first. Start at the top of the cane and snip off a short piece. Look at the center of the cane. If it is a greenish white or cream and looks moist that cane is alive. If it looks dry and tan or brown it is dead wood. Continue cutting down in small pieces until you find that white moist center. Older canes will get that brown barky look but still are alive. When I started I accidentally took off several older canes thinking they were dead because they looked like tree bark. When your done with that step back and take a look at your plant and see what you think needs taking off to get the shape you want. Prune them down to lower than you want them to end up at. They will grow back. Try and take out inward growing canes and one of any canes that cross or rub on each other. Thinning out the center allows for good air circulation to prevent diseases. During the season it's OK to prune deeper while dead heading in order to keep the plant the size and shape you like. Be fore warned though. Roses are stubborn and tend to have a mind of their own. They will grow back the way they want to, lol!

Hi Superteeth, that sounds bad. Perhaps a picture would help us understand your problem. I can't tell you for sure what is causing it -- whether it is the weather, the way you planted these bare roots, the plants themselves perhaps being in poor condition when you got them, the watering conditions, or an issue with the soil where they are planted. Maybe they are just going through "a phase" and will be healthy soon enough. It is probably worth contacting the seller and reporting this. Maybe they can send replacements (though that won't help if the weather is the problem). Are they in full sun? Sometimes it helps to give bare roots a bit of protection from the sun until they have successfully leafed out. How often are you watering them? What is your soil like? How much sun do they get? What has your weather been like lately? On a happy note, I once bought a bare root VERY late in the season, on sale, and potted it up. I was sure it was dead -- it showed no sign of life. Meanwhile, all of my other roses were leafed out and blooming. I was ready to throw it away, but habitually watered it along with my other potted roses until I could get around to tossing it in the compost. Sometime around mid summer the rose resurrected and is still going strong today. They are tough plants, and sometimes will surprise you.