I just want to say I hope you get your problem figured out Gary!

Our climates are so different I wouldn't even want to guess... I just hope you find answers Gary...

Could it be old leaves getting ready to fall off before new leaves start? Or, too much rain?

I do, too. I have 15 to 18 roses in this garden and I don't want any to die!

During the last 4 years, So Calif has been in a severe drought but we did get about 3 inches of rain between January 4th and 7th. El Nino is expected to dump a ton more of rain through March.

Are you still watering your roses, and if so, how often?

Lynn

The condo development's sprinkler system waters the roses but it comes on for about 20 minutes every other day.

We had a very cold spell (below freezing at night for several days) here a couple of weeks ago. Many of my roses had most of their leaves turn yellow like yours.They do not usually do that - our normal winters are rainy, but do not get below freezing very often. I think it is natural, it is just that we do not usually see this in Calif because our climate is normally so warm. Did it get cold where you live?

In areas where it freezes all winter I presume the leaves turn yellow and fall off? Anyway, I would not worry about it. When you do your winter pruning, just take them off (or leave them if you do not want to, and they will probably fall off eventually).

Jackie

In January 2016, our low temperatures have been in the mid-30s to mid-40s but we had one below-freezing (about 30 degrees) night about January 10th.

Twenty minutes, every other day, right now, could be too much. You could check the soil moisture levels prior to the scheduled watering to determine if the plant actually needs it.

Lynn

I really bet they will be alright, Gary. Your new leaves will probably be beautiful.

Desertgarden-Las Vegas,

I don't control the development's sprinkling schedule (and no one controls the condo board!)

Based upon your response, I guess not, nor are you allowed input with whomever is controlling the watering in that dry area of California, Gary. You were, however, searching for possible answers regarding the leaves. Checking the moisture levels could be a way of diagnosis or ruling out one possible cause.

The issue will likely be resolved. Good luck.

This is exactly how many of my roses look whenever we get a 'normal' winter out here. That is chilly (in the 30's and 40's) and wet periods interspersed with warmer and drier. This just looks to me like senating leaves and I would not worry about it.

In Riverside in Southern California, we get below-freezing temps (sometimes even into the low 20's) for a few days in the winter. But the leaves on my roses have NEVER turned yellow before (I've lived here since 1956)

Our climates are different although yours may be classified as med-type too. It is the consistently chilly, WET and darker conditions that do it over here not the occasional frost which is very rare here. Many HT's and modern roses do that although not all and not to the same extent. Chinas and also some Teas to a lesser degree. In any case I would not worry about it and would probably help the rest of the leaves off during pruning. European type once bloomers do that long before in autumn.

For me in my climate the pics look very normal. I can't show any pics since I just pruned all of my roses that get pruned.

Did you get some rare weather pattern lately?

...if that was in my garden I would simply put it down to temps. near or below freezing...

With everything being equal, as in no sprinkler adjustments, watering every other day in the winter is very likely too much ( I do not water even close to that frequently, and reside in the driest major city in the country). My sister resides in Temecula which is in Riverside County ( like the poster) and only waters twice per month right now, not every other day. Out of curiosity as well, I sent a text to her, and she reported that the leaves on all roses surrounding her home are still green.... granted, they are all Icebergs with some big box stocked modern varieties in the backyard. Her home is lakefront... which could result in subtle differences....

I am in zone 9a, so slightly colder than the poster in 9b, and our temperatures hit 25 for a couple of hours with temperatures in the high 40's to high 20's at night for a couple of weeks. Riverside is also one of the "desert" areas of CA that has a climate very similar to mine, though a little less extreme during the hot months, and they get more than double my rainfall (Riverside averages about 10" annually). The leaves on ALL of my roses are still green or have turned red, as I take notice when I walk the yard daily and continue to procrastinate pruning..... Like the poster, it does not become very cold here either, we get freezes, however, I am acquainted with overwatering, which can result from too much water at once from rain, irrigation and/or poor drainage. What the poster showed is the appearance that can result from overwatering, which his HOA is very likely doing. Also, another clue for me regarding the overwatering, if my memory is serving me correctly, is the yellowing begins at the bottom and works its way toward the top leaves. The area being overwatered, is almost a given, but cold could be a factor too, especially if the plant is stressed.

Lynn

A couple of my roses bushes turned yellow and dropped leaves just like that when they were getting too much water from a broken sprinkler.

I agree its either a normal thing from colder weather or to much water...

I just can't agree on which one exactly...lol

Hopefully its just a normal thing from colder weather since you can't control the water situation...

I don't see any veining and other symptoms that would point to a nutritional deficiency or toxicity. So I think it can just be from the cold or a slight nitrogen deficiency from too much watering.

Normal
time of the year response. Drought, cold, reduced light intensity can all
stimulate plants to go "dormant" and bring out any deciduous tendencies they may
have. In zone 10a, most of my modern roses were ever green. The same plants, now
moved to zone 8a and subjected to colder temps and rains they hadn't endured in
the other zone, have turned "autumn colors" and are going deciduous. This is the
season where most woody plants shed their old foliage, which often has become so
senescent it succumbs to fungal attacks, by reabsorbing the sap from them,
causing them to "discolor", prior to pushing new, fresh growth. While there may
be other causes acting in conjunction with aging, which might encourage you to
attempt to "correct", you're probably simply seeing what the plants are
programmed to do so they are ready to push new growth when the temps and light
quality increases. I'm simply enjoying the "fall coloring" and allowing them to
do their things. They know much better than I what they are supposed to do in
these conditions.

Thank y'all.

I've spent a quite a bit of time, effort and money rehabbing this garden (i.e., weeding, tilling, adding amendments, planting 6 new rose bushes, applying 80-cu-ft bags of bark chips, fertilizing, etc) this garden.

I would be disappointed to lose any of the 18 roses in this garden.

I've resisted pruning the roses -- except for deadheading -- so the roses would reach a decent size and become "floriferous".

Thanks, Sharon. The rest and water often does them a world of good.

Gary,

You could check the roses in your neighborhood, outside of your condo area. They too could serve as a great point of reference for you. My information for you is solely based upon experiences in my dry, desert, zone 9, like you, however COLDER and northeast of you, plus current information from my sister who lives in Riverside County... like you. The fact that your roses have NEVER yellowed before and stayed green like mine... (although some of mine have turned red) in over close to 5 decades (which includes the last El Nino in the late 90's)... definitely explains your concern.

It should be getting warmer in a few weeks and everything should correct.

Lynn

Mine are also turning yellow and, even worse, many of the leaves are diseased. The yellow I think is due to the weather, the disease, who knows? Since I don't spray I'm not going to worry about either phenomenon, especially since I see little leaf nubbins poking out. Hopefully the old leaves will drop off, and I'm even picking some of the worst-looking ones, but I'm hoping by spring I'll have mostly have healthy, new growth. I was hoping for a robust El Nino, but we've had only one storm and nothing else in sight, as it seems that everything is happening north of us. Fortunately that's giving the Sierras a good snow pack and the northern reservoirs are filling up. Meanwhile, we're having Santa Ana winds today!