I'm just wondering if you might have rose midge... Do you see any burnt looking tips where a bud might be???...Looks like a burnt matchstick.... Or bent buds?

Just a thought so don't panic...lol

High heat can also cause roses not to bloom much and cause the blooms to be smaller...Not much you can do about high heat conditions...

Thanks!! Hmmm...if it is rose midge, does the Bayer not treat for that? What's my best plan of attack if it's a critter issue and not a heat/sun issue?

I'm organic...

But lots of threads on the subject...

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/4807323/more-rose-midge-advice?n=24

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/4818441/so-is-this-midge?n=42

Thank you!

If you post photos of your roses, then you will get some feedback and suggestions. There are many things that can cause issues in a garden - weather, bugs, soil & the space that they are in.

Blame the hot summer, it has a big effect on bloom size and probably more so if your roses are not heat tolerant. As the climate warms and summers are longer and hotter, some roses just won't perform well that may have been really great only ten years ago. Anyway, here in SE Virginia summer is not so great; spring and fall bloom are much better.

In August we cut back our modern shrubs and floribundas and clean up weak growth. They get a nice organic feeding and a top dress of compost or manure.

I'm not a fan of Bayer 3 in 1; perhaps all those extra chemicals retarded your growth by stressing the plants during the hot weather.

My best new roses in the heat are Beverly, Savannah and Lemon Fizz. I have high hopes for South Africa, which is one of Kordes Sunbelt series.

We had high heat here too, and it wasn`t just roses that struggled. People around here growing tomatoes ( Including me) just didn`t get the crop they usually get, and the tomatoes were much later to fruit. I think it was just the heat. Some shade would probably help. Now temps are getting back to normal, and everything is looking better. I hope we don`t have another summer like this one.

Could well be the heat. Totally agree with barbarag about the chemicals doing more harm than good.

With my heavy clay soil, roses don't like to be watered every day--I tried that one year. They need both oxygen and water, so they can't function properly if they are always wet. Someone at a local rose club may be able to offer advice on what works best for your soil and climate. In Connecticut, we have widely different soils. There are other members in our club that have sandy soil and don't have the drainage issues I have. I can't complain though, I did very well at the the rose shows this year.

Starflower,

I'm Organic too. I think we all used the Bayer at some point. There is a chemical fungicide from China in there,(like every thing from Walmart is made in China.) It's banned in NY and Europe and Canada. It's what you do after the Bayer that counts. ( To get the proper life back in the soil.) Plants have mutually beneficial relationship with fungi in the soil. It's symbiotic. The fungi in the soil trade nutrients from the rock for the sugars ,proteins and carbohydrates the plant gives them. Life in the soil. Dr Elaine Ingham. (From Oregon ,Corvallis). I learned this from Jeff Lowenfels. Radio talk show host (From Anchorage). I read the new Jeff Lowenfels book last winter. The good fungi build Castle walls around the roots of the plant to protect them from the diseases. This way the plants can grow big. Here's a quick video about the natural process nutrient cycling from Bob Cannard. (From Petaluma)

https://youtu.be/-AJL0P0OMrE

Thank you all! I'm organic throughout my yard...except for my roses!! I always thought my roses needed the Bayer to keep the black spot away. Perhaps I need to rethink my approach!

I live near Portland, OR and the sun this year for summer for me was extremely intense. There was a lot of heat sensitivity happening on my younger roses. I like to look at the plants in my neighborhood in the natural areas to see if there are similar symptoms as in my garden and it has been hard on the plants all around me. I hope next year fares better, but bugs also plagued many people's gardens this year. Especially midge. I have midge and buds are hard to get going, but once they reach a certain size they produce blooms in a few weeks or so. I think our summer has been brutal for our area. There were two 100 degree days in spring along with 90 degree days and burned plants that weren't acclimated yet to the weather, which set the tone for the rest of the summer. Very sad.