I will go look for Fungonil, as someone else posted do you spray on the canes? In my big cane roses from J&P --PJP II, VOLUPTIOUS, and Princess Diana I dont see any growth. Only dry canes at this point. Some of the Heirlooms are still dormant, except for one. A deer chopped this one down very short last fall. It is growing and leafing very quickly. Should I still prune it even though it has started growing? I see green on the bottom of the others but I havent pruned yet. As far a guarantee I know last year J&P refunded the price, or I could have gotten a replacement for my rose that didnt make it through the winter. Carolina

I looked at the picture and noted that your upper leaves show signs of salt build-up (brown crispy tips) and that you've got a rock/gravel mulch around your roses. Hottest part of the day, reflection of sunlight off rock, possibly had powdery mildew and aphids a few weeks ago and increased heat/winds are causing your roses to transpire faster. It looks like typical heat-stress to me. Some roses are more susceptible than others, especially if the bush is already stressed or that cane is at the end of its natural life-cycle. I would advise pulling the gravel back away from the rose and using a forest-based mulch instead. It will cool the roots much more effectively and won't reflect the sunlight up into the canes and leaves. It's also an easier way to work around your roses than moving gravel every time you want to feed the roses. Although today is cooler, we've had some days in the 90's already and humidity level has plummeted again. If your roses are on drip irrigation, I would increase the water to 3x per week with an average of 5-gallons per time. The pattern sprayers are much more effective at getting the roots watered than a single emitter if you aren't already using them, a bubbler or in-ground irrigation system. Salts in our alkaline water and alkaline soil build up when they aren't leached below the rootzone. The West Valley Rose Society meets at 7pm, 2nd Tuesday of each month at LandscapeMart, 8028 W Thunderbird, Peoria. Their website is www.westvalleyrose.org. The other west-side group is the Rose Society of Glendale, which meets at the Glendale Public Library, 5959 W Brown, Glendale, on the 1st Thursday of each month at 7pm. Their website is www.roseglenaz.com. Neither group has July or August meetings, though. If you want a Consulting Rosarian (or a panel) to look at these leaves and get a definitive opinion, cut a small length of cane, complete with leaves, the day of the meeting, keep the stem in water and take it to them. They'll also need that picture you posted so they can see the growing environment. This is free of charge and you'll meet several rose enthusiasts of varying levels, including neighbors. Many of the WVRS members live in Sun City, Surprise, Goodyear, Avondale, etc.

Lovely pic hoovb! I guess I may just have to try this one out for myself and see how it does. Do you know if this is a hardy one or not? -not a fan of myrrh scent huh cyberblue? Im not much either. I have'Carding Mill' which is one of Austin's myrrh scented roses. It smells like cherry cough-drops and anice to me, lol. Thanks for the info. CMK

It is actually suggested around here that you plant roses with the graft union several inches below ground so that if the plant does die back to the ground that what comes back from the root has a chance to be your preferred plant, which may have grown some of its own roots. Then mulch. Don't cut back until spring when you see what has died. Climbers you can detach from the trellis and lie close to the ground and mulch. I tend to grow roses from cuttings from friends that I know will be hardy locally, and even as a relatively inexperienced rose grower I've been reasonably successful. Unfortunately, many of the roses I've seen at big box stores aren't hardy for this area, so enjoy their blooms this year and hope for another mild winter, preferably with good snow cover. I'm biased in favor of roses that I don't have to fuss over too much, so I don't grow hybrid teas and research whether the rose is prone to blackspot or other deseases before I buy them. Anecdotally, sprinkling alfalfa meal or corn meal under the plant is supposed to reduce blackspot, but I've never had enough of a problem to try it. Many of my roses are early once bloomers because they are done blooming before the J beetles arrive. The ones that aren't I've planted in an area that isn't good J beetle territory - a clearing surrounded by much woodland. I'll be spreading Milky Spore desease on the small amount of lawn there as I've had success with that reducing the J beetle population at a previous house/garden. I don't have any neighbors with lawns within J beetle flying distance, and I've heard that this is only successful if all the nearby area is milky spored. Another problem is rose chafers, which are insects about the size of J beetles, but longer, slimmer, and tanner. They emerge a bit earlier than J beetles and chew on the blooms. I don't know of any organic way to prevent them other than hand picking. They are common if you are near fallow agricultural land, which surrounds my current house. I don't have problems with them in the wooded location. I hope this is helpful, and if you want cuttings or have other specific questions, I'll check back here (though maybe not right away as work is busy right now.)