Rachieaj, I'm in metro Melbourne and my Jude (about 8 years old) is about 1.6m x 1.5m. I planted it before the water restrictions really kicked in so didn't get a good start and remained quite small. Since I have been able to give it the required water, it has flourished and have found it flowers well in Spring and Autumn, but in Summer it just barely ticks along. It could be because it gets no shade and is in a garden bed bordering a paved patio, since a lot of Austins prefer cooler conditions. I am waiting to see what it does this year and if necessary, will move it to where it will get more sun protection.

Since you don’t have pictures of the dead parts before you cut them off, it’s hard to tell what’s wrong. Is the newer Jude on the left? Or is it the one on the right? 1) It could be rose canker, if the canes turned black from a wound higher up the cane and died back downward toward the base. If you don’t cut back to green healthy cane, the canker could spread throughthe base of the rose and kill it. 2) If I am understanding correctly, this problem Jude is the 2nd one you received. Since it was planted later, the root growth would be behind the 1st one you received, so it would naturally be smaller than the 1st since the top can only grow what the roots can support. 3) In Zone 9, my bareroot planting season is in January-Feb. Planting later in the season also stresses the plant more because the warm temps are telling it to grow green and it will use it’s limited stored enegry to push new growth, but if it has insufficient roots, the canes will wither/wilt and die. If this is the case, you can only wait/be patient and make sure to water well until the plant recovers. (I have a couple bareroots planted late, and I didn’t water it everyday, and this is what happens). 4) If the problem Jude is the one in the upper right, in the corner, it’s possible that the soil on shorter side is drying out faster than the taller side? Have you been checking the soil to make sure it’s evenly moist 1-2” beneath the surface? If these don’t match your situation, maybe someone else will have more insight.

Magpie .. my expierience so far ( this will be its second season ) is just ok . it only gave me a few blooms last year in the spring only . this yesr it grew to 6 ft high and has given a very small flush , maybe 4 clusters of these bloooms snd not showing signs of more being formed. most day sun , water and fertilzer of course . i heard from a friend in england his became amazing after its first year. Im holding on but it will be watched carefully . pleasant fragrance too . in my opinion moonlight in paris is similar color wise and much better

I hesitated to reply last night, b/c I'm in coastal CA with very mild temps. But I have to say that Just Joey and Jude the Obscure are two of my all-time favorite roses. Kind of hilarious (given the difference in our zones and temps), but BenT's comments are EXACTLY what I'd say about both of them. I do get thrips damage (particularly bad on some roses), but neither one has ever shown any damage from them. Jude can be a bit stingy overall, but the grapefruit (?) fragrance is beyond amazing. Just Joey's blooms always make my heart melt for some reason. I would never be without either of these roses!