Looks like good ole scale to me! we have had it growing on my inside verandah, windows you name it! a good dose of white oil and repeat if doesnt go as it slowly continues onwards... You will probably have some on other plants or citrus somewhere else also.
Lynne

Lynne might be right. The old treatment for rose scale is thickish starch brushed on stems. Annie, That's sure some mighty old wood you're keeping on your Iceberg. Why?? Check Reliable's Culture Notes in July.

>>Annie, That's sure some mighty old wood you're keeping on your Iceberg. Why?? Can I cut those ones right off at the base? even if it means just about denuding the bush?
Also, I really don't think it's scale.....you can't scrape it off with your fingernail....it looks and feels just like a freckle on your own skin by which I mean you can't actually "feel" anything on stem at all...just see it.
Annie

Annie, I don.t know the life story of rose scale. Mature scales when removed have an indentation in which the insect is protected, and can go about the business of sucking sap. Sealing the scale with White Oil (not too thin), and starch prevents the insect from breathing, and it dies. Maybe your little patches are immature scale, but I just don't know.

Regarding the rejuvination of your Iceberg, while it is a very unforgiving rose, I wouldn't cut it right back in the first instance. Perhaps remove half of the old canes this winter, and trim back the remaining canes to plump buds on the younger green wood. When finished I can imagine the grey older wood with perhaps green spikes as laterals, each with no more than three leaf axils. This will force Iceberg to regenerate (and it will). Tell me what you've got this time next year, and we'll plan the next step. The following will help.

Below is an extract of July Culture Notes.

If you followed my suggestions on Summer Trimming (February, see below), there will not be as much work involved in pruning the plants. We took the opportunity to remove unproductive wood at that time and less work is required now. Failing that, approach pruning your modern roses first of all by distinguishing old from new wood, and work to retain only young wood on the plant. Any wood growing into and across the centre of the plant is to be removed whether old or young. Aim to give the plant a vigorous future by now removing oldest canes at the base of the plant, hopefully leaving 4 or 5 young canes for the coming season. These canes will be trimmed from the top down just above a plump bud in the leaf axil.
Do not prune modern roses by cutting rose canes crewcut style. This perpetuates the continuing existence of non-productive old wood, and considerably retards development of laterals on new wood, by effectively cutting to immature buds down the canes. Our climate is kinder than English conditions. We do not need to prune hard as is necessary there. We have inherited pruning methods from English books, but they do not apply in more temperate zones. There is no mystery to rose pruning. The object is to remove canes to encourage the plant to produce new canes. Cut out the old to create the new.

FEBRUARY extract: For April blooms, about 8 weeks before the required date, trim the plants by about one third to a plump bud. Cluster-flowered roses should be cut back to a bud beneath the cluster. (Ignore new water-shoots). Don't be concerned that you are cutting away new young growth. The blooms from this would be poor quality in March anyway. Also be sure to remove any old wood not capable of producing vigorous new growth. This will reduce the task at Winter pruning time.

I think the spots are the least of your worries with the Iceberg.It's hard to tell from a photo, even a good one because there is no magnification possible to help work out whats really happening. However from what I can see it's my bet you can ignore the spots and treat them as though they're nothing detrimental.When modern roses have adequate light,fertiliser,drainage and regular irrigation they will produce new water shoots each year especially here in Qld.Younger bushes are usually very productive in this sence.
The most valid observation of this rose which I can make,is that no new watershoots have appeared for some time.This leads me to assume that an underlying cultural problem exists which has almost stopped the growth of your bush. If not corrected at least to some degree the bush may not be able to produce new wood and would eventually die a lingering and painfull death (little ray of sunshine aren't I).
These problems may be one or more of the following
(a) inadequate water
(b) inadequate fertiliser
(c) inadequate light
(d) inadequate drainage
(e) heavy and untreated infestation of rose scale
ie the small white variety we are all familiar with.
Another variety, the California red scale could also
cause these symptoms but I'm unsure if
this scale is present in your area.
(f)any other unrelenting insect or disease problem
which has afflicted the plant continuously over
an unusually long time period.I would however doubt
this to be the case because most common pest and
diseases of roses, apart from scale tend to come and
go with changes in local weather (especially so on
hardier varieties).
(g)accidental removal of new watershoots by tools,machines
etc. or by savage children, hares etc. or by mistaking
water shoots from cultivar with those of rootstock
and pruning them off.

If after considering these points nothing seems to fit the bill you could dig the plant up (you won't be missing out on much by setting it back a little) and examine the root system and surrounding soil for any possible clues.You might be suprised! For various reasons, relatively small patches of soil can sometimes become water repellant and will remain dry even when irrigated. If still nothing is evident, either just reposition the rose or replace some of the soil and replant it in the origional spot.

p.s sorry about book length answer but it's raining here and I'm stuck in house.
MrThrip

Mr.Thrip, Yeah, the underlying cultural problem is that the plant has never on Annie's admission been pruned properly.