Oh, I forgot to mention that we have had lots of Japaneese beetles this summer as you can probably see. I am most concerned about the yellow leaves and lack of new growth.

They look like they are stretching to try to get more sun.

I would not necessarily expect a lot of top growth from a relatively recently planted bare root rose.......they spend most of their first season establishing a root system. And this is a BIG rose with a correspondingly large root system - QE is a grandiflora that routinely grows 6-8 feet tall, often taller. Believe it or not, there is one in my shared garden that is growing up through the middle of a very large yew. It consistently gets to around 10' tall and blooms like crazy, even with the yew congestion and the fact that it is heavily sheltered by the garage (original owners did not think much about proper plant placement :-)) Your roses are not suffering from lack of light!!

But I am a bit concerned that their placement might be a tad restrictive. Is there enough room in that location for two roses that want to be 6+ feet tall and 3-4' wide?

A couple of yellow leaves, especially at the base of the plant, is not something I'd be overly concerned with. Just keep an eye out for any disease issues and make sure the roses receive the water they need.

I would emphasize the water need as stated just above. You may have not given the roses enough water during their recent dry spell. Check the soil often and water deeply, not just a light sprinkling. Diane

Agree that it's nothing to worry about. Besides, at this time of year most roses slow down anyway, at least in my climate. Why -and what-do you spray, though? Many, many of us are no-spray gardeners,and very happy to be so.

Sorry for my delayed reply-I have a baby and a toddler.

Bart: I use the below spray. My step mom gave it to me after the roses started growing, because there were aphids. I kept using it, because it did well against the many Japanese beetles that tried to ravage these roses. I am open to other methods! I also used a different spray from this same brand for another rose, because it has been struggling with black spot.

Diane: thank you for the advice. I know you live in a very different climate, but sometimes I get concerned that I over water my roses-is that possible?

Gardengal: that is very good information-thank you. I appreciate your experience. I may need to reevaluate their placement.

Calli: do you mean in their height vs width? They're not leaning to any side even though I see it may look that way in the picture!

Thank you for the help! I love love these roses and hope to one day have more. I just need to keep these alive first!

In the first couple of pictures, the canes seemed elongated with few leaves. How many hours a day are they in full sun?

They have at least 4 hours of full sun at the moment. I think it is close to 5 hours.

Calli, do they usually grow differently?

"the canes seemed elongated with few leaves."

That is just the way a grandiflora grows. They are very tall, leggy roses.

This morning, the leaves of the rose next to it looked this this. Should I be concerned about any mosaic virus? Am I just being overly paranoid?

There is a nearby mystery rose that we inherited with the house that also has similar looking leaves

I would not want to spray my plants especially if I had little kids.