It's called "chlorotic." The leaves become a paler green to yellow-green and the veins stand out dark in contrast. It's a very specific look. Chelated iron is easier for the plant to absorb. Typically it comes in a granulated form that you trowel into the soil and water in. Sometimes you can find a foliage spray.

Funky is not a particularly precise description.

You need to add iron if your rose leaves are yellow with light green in the veins. I use chelate iron it comes as a liquid and you can buy at any garden center. The directions on measurements is usually on the bottle. I buy the blue bottle with the yellow label that has iron and zinc and use a tbls. per gallon of water and it clears it right up within a week or so. Here is what chelate means: In gardening, it most often refers to iron chelates, which bond molecularly to other elements and to water molecules. This allows them to be absorbed easier by plant roots.
Maybe someone will give you a more detailed explanation.

Good Luck,
Carrie

No need to add iron just cuz. I suggest you find your soils test and save your money. If you've had lots of rain, the rose leaves could look funky because of inadequate nitrogen. Nitrogen leaches out of the soil through heavy watering.

Here are some of the leaves. Can you diagnose the problem by looking at the leaves or does it just indicate that you have some kind of nutrient deficiency?

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You may need iron even though the foliage shows no signs of chlorosis. And a soil test may not mention a recommendation to add iron. I did it because my test showed 7# per acre. A level which Berndoodle thought was too low. So I added some chelated iron. Sure enought a couple of roses responded.

Chelated iron is kind of a pain to use as you need to measure the liquid and apply that way. So this year I got some prilled, solid iron which is basically iron oxide. Just throw it on. It too seems to have perked a up couple of malingerers.

What Berndoodle said.

You had lot of rain? This happens. Where are the leaves? If they are at the bottom of the plants, maybe their time is up...

What are you using as fertilizer? I'll bet it has some iron in it, and you don't need any additional.

I used 10-10-10 earlier in the season and scratched it in. Using 8-16-8 liquid fertilizer now, it is Monty's Joy Juice. No mention of iron on the label.

My leaves looked like this last year also so I don't think it is the rain. I am going to use some RoseTone soon. It's not too early, is it?

Another very inexpensive way to add iron, while you're feeding your bushes is to sprinkle a cup of Milorganite around each bush. A lot of professionals do this once a
month, all the way to September. A 40 lb. bag only costs
around $5.

What's the pH of the soil? Is it well-drained?

I am concerned that throwing on more fertilizer without evaluating the cause of the deficiency will be like throwing your money away. Please take moment to read this article explaining why.

Here is a link that might be useful: Explanation of chlorosis

I use liquid iron from Ferti-Lome I get at my local nursery. I just add it to my foliar spray and use it about twice per year. I think it helps, especially the potted plants.
John

Solid form of chelated iron?

Where do you get that and what is it called?

It might be an iron deficiency, but other micronutrient deficiences also cause leaf chlorsis. I bet if you Google "leaf chlorosis" sooner or alter (probably from one of the state universities with an agricultural college) you'll find illustrations of the various deficiencies and the chloroses they cause. It does look to me as though it might be an iron deficiency, but it also looks as though it might not.

When you had this last year was it also right after rain?

I am curiuos about how much Iron is good also.
You got so much rain, I am guessing maybe too much water could do that to the leaves. I have heard of that before.
Samuel

Well, Berndoodle, that link did say that the roses would appear to be suffering and other than the leaves depicted, my roses look good and have tons of flowers. This is only their 2nd year. But I will dig out the pH meter I bought last year. My pH was very high when I did the soil sample but then I amended it. Maybe I didn't amend it enough.

Ah! That could be a clue. What did you use to lower the pH? Some of the additives are fairly water soluble (they have to be at least a little so for them to work at all), and if so perhaps in a lot of rain they've leached down out of the root zone.