I was thinking just what Jerijen said, amazed that Knockout roses could be decimated by blackspot. MScaradine, are your Knockouts the original Knockout, or one of the varients bred from it? Second question is: You mentioned your tea roses doing well. Did you actually mean the old garden tea roses or hybrid teas? I have just heard so many people shorten hybrid tea to "tea" that I'm never sure. They are completely separate classes of roses. I wouldn't throw out the Knockouts without giving them a chance to recover, perhaps to next year. I had a Belinda's Dream rose that had significant blackspot when I bought it and for a few months afterwards, but after that it was highly resistant. Thanks, Rosetom, for your information about Banner Maxx. I did not know it is the same class as the tebuconazole. I used that before I ever started with the Bayer stuff, so I still have a supply of it. I have also used manzate occasionally, so I'll remember to give that a turn every so often. I don't much care for the filmy residue the Manzate leaves behind, but that's a minor annoyance and doesn't last long. Anyway, I have not been too diligent this year about spraying, but, knock on wood, so far the blackspot has been easily controlled, so the Bayer tebuconazole is still doing its job. Yea, Modern Miracle, indeed! I think Ingrid has a valid concern about the enivornmental impact. It is easier, though, to avoid blackspot in a drier climate. When you live in the Gulf South, blackspot is a major issue. There are certainly a handful of old garden roses highly resistant to it, but none are immune. Also, there are a lot of old garden roses that I see blackspot here as badly as modern roses. so you have to do your research carefully. I find (selfishly, perhaps) that certain colors and bloom form and size combinations are just simply not available in old garden rose varieties. I am encourage, however, with how much improvement we're seeing, in the overall disease resistance of some select modern varieties. My fingers are crossed that this trend will continue. In the meantime, if we're going to use chemicals in the garden, the labels that say CAUTION are supposed to be less dangerous than the ones that say either WARNING or DANGER. Bayer has a CAUTION label. Mike

stop watering... the worst thing that you can do .. is freeze the roots into an ice cube .... do NOT water again.. unless your finger.. inserted to about 3 inches.. indicates that the soil is dry .... in my z5.. i suspect that might be mid may, next year ... add mulch around the plant if you didn't prior.. and you can still find some in z4 ... almost all the junipers turn color in fall and winter ... to some extent or another... i don't see why you should be concerned the old GOLD is turning yellow .. lol ... though i have no specific knowledge of that plant.. it sure sounds normal to me .... with temps in the 30' to 50's by day .. and 20 to 40's at night.. you will have little color change other than that which is normal for this time of year .... your only threat is late next spring.. after thaw and spring showers leave... and the soil starts to dry in summer ... i would only be concerned with one color.. brown ... and you wont see that until the heat of summer, next year ... watering is an art.. not a science .... one gallon per week means nothing ... you water when the soil needs water... and that is a function of water holding capacity... drainage.. rain... etc ... no guessing allowed.. insert finger ... all that said ... junipers are pretty hard to kill .. presuming you started with healthy stock .... and presuming the most minor of care ... you will be beating them back with a stick in a year or two ... have a good holiday... i am sure you have many other things that you need to worry about... i doubt the junipers should be high on the list .... ken

Sounds as if this is a wait-and-see situation.

This is what I would do. Go to your local nursery and buy some stretch tape. Tie off to the main trunk as low as you can. Begin to pull up the branches that need correction while at the same time wrapping the tree with the tape to hold them in the vertical position. Their natural inclination is to grow in the vertical position and this method will achieve that. Leave tape on till they will stand on their own. I would probably get another person to help other wise you will have your hands full holding branches and trying to tape at the same time. If you moved it put down mulch for moisture retention and water when soil is dry 2 inches down. Don't over water. Good luck, Dave