The raised bed the plants are in is 30"x16'x12"deep. It is filled with a combination of topsoil (dh ordered 5 yds before asking me), peat moss and coarse vermiculite. I put 2 large handfuls of the Epsom salts into the beds. I water with diluted Miracle Grow. We have had a LOT of rain over the past 3 days and the bed is really wet. I am thinking it may be too wet but I am not sure how to ammend as I have radish planted around the broccoli and cauliflower and don't have any room to dig. It is definetly not too hot with the temps in the high 40's at night and 60's during the day. I also learned after my marker incident to use pencil on old venetian blinds for plant markers. We are supposed to get rain the rest of the week but I can cover the bed easily to let dry out a bit to see if it helps...think I will try that. Thanks for the information. Kim

Lux again, after considering everything, I think the failure of Marachal Niel' to thrive, might be the clone. Because in the same bed, and c. 7-8 feet on- center from M.N. is a 'Mrs. B.R. Cant' that was given to me as a house present in January 2013, it arrived in a gallon pot and was c. 8 inches tall by nearly as wide, now it has grown to be c. 3 feet tall by nearly as wide in less than 7 months. I had planned to keep it in that bed for a couple years until it grew to be about 3 feet tall until I had cleared a strip of lawn to move it to, but it's grown three times faster than I thought it would have done. I'm still moving Marachal Niel' to a rosebed that gets a couple hours of afternoon shade, because two canes are sunburnt at the top of the plant, The yellowing leaves may be due to using Epson salts,this year and last, a tip I read in an English rose book. I should have understood that a method and means used in England may not be a good thing to use in California, because our soil and climate is so different. Thanks again, Lux.

I found this link that might help: Posted by gardenguru1950 SunsetZ16 (My Page) on Sat, Aug 8, 09 at 13:06 The most common "eater" of rose leaves in California is the Bristly Rose Slug, the larvae of the Rose Sawfly. The sawfly is a pudgy little wasp. It lays its eggs on the UNDERSIDES of the leaves and the caterpillars feed on the UNDERSIDES of the leaves. The rose slug is tiny, no more than 1/4-inch long and very slender, and it's the exact same pale green as the undersides of the leaves. Talk about hard to see and find! It's the critter that "skelotinizes" rose leaves. It's pretty easy to get rid of, actually. Almost any good spray will do the job: insecticidal soap, Neem, pyrethrum. The trick is to spray thoroughly UNDER the leaves. Not stand back and spray all over. You have to get UNDER the leaves. By the way, a commonly suggested spray for rose sawfly is BT. It doesn't work. It doesn't work because it's meant for the caterpillars of moths and butterflies. The rose slug is the larvae of a wasp. And I'm not sure of any beneficial insect that preys upon it. As for your rose buds, Applenut has a good idea. Go outside late at night with a flashlight. The critter most likely is an earwig, sowbug or pillbug. It also might be a slug or snail. Joe Here is a link that might be useful: Bugs that eat roses' leaves

Looks like an insect problem too maybe.. I use Bayer 3 in 1 to control insects. As for your fear of overwatering... One thing I have learned is that once they are well rooted, they can handle quite a bit of water. Most issues with rotting occur on newly rooted plants or plants in the rooting process. I had a celadine that I neglected early last year in what was a very rainy spring and the soil literally stayed soaking wet. Never had an issue, and it thrived. BUT, it is well established in it's pot and I may have been lucky. Another thing is that when I pot up, I keep the root "flare" right at the soil line. That keeps the trunk out of the soil and the main woody root area in the "drier" section of the soil. Seems to help.