Spider mites?

Though I would not think likely end of May in New England. Maybe if shotgun insecticide use, dry and hot all got together. You did mention wild swings.

Wild swings all spring... NO snow over the winter. A straight week of sun-zero temps in Feb (CT peach crop sounds like a complete loss from the frigid temps), then record heat in the 90s in April. And below freezing May 18!!! A lot of plants are growing oddly — or have died. I was assuming disease of some kind but will look more closely for possible mite/insect evidence tomorrow…

Why Hollytone? Do you have a specific soil condition that needs amending? Have your soil checked , you may have made it to acidic?

I often cut plants down drastically when they are not doing well. Plants try to fix themselves often with really bad results so a really harsh pruning to get rid of all the sick parts is sometimes the answer . BTW IMO you never fertilize a sick plant . We had a really weird winter where I live too and some plants just are not as halthy this year as usual. I did prune the roses a lot and they are now doing really well so don't give up. I have never wrapped roses I try to buy ones that handle my climate but wacky weather makes for some drastic correction for sure. It went for plus 40 c. to minus 1c in a week so definately stress for plants my pear tree did not lose its leaves until the end of Feb.

Did it turn yellow before or after you added Holly-Tone?

Just to clarify, I only put the HollyTone on two days ago (this week) after seeing all the yellowing -- this shrub has always leafed out with beautiful dark green foliage (for the ~6 years I've had it, anyway so I was assuming it maybe needed a boost. I have never fed it before this since it always leafed out and subsequently bloomed rigorously. What I should do before giving up on this rose is take a soil sample to our Experiment Station for testing (I'll have to be sure to get a sample today, and that's outside the area where I worked the HollyTone in... ) We (in NE) also had a significant drought all of last year which stressed many of the shrubs and trees so I wondered if the buildup of stress from last summer combined with the bitter cold followed by record-setting April heat followed yet again by another cold snap in May (and this week's record-setting high of 94 in Hartford) might have just been too much. I am wondering given how robust it has been if I should try just cutting it way back (it is very large) and taking a chance on its rebounding .. but I do need to know, if possible, what is going on... the two Queen Elizabeth roses nearby are leafing out normally as far as I can tell.

Thank you all... I am going to get a soil test plus examine the foliage more carefully today. And since I will need to deliver the soil sample to our Experiment Station, I'll take a foliage sample with me as well and see what their plant scientist says. Hadn't even thought about doing that... !

You're on the right track. Get the soil tested and figure out what amendments are needed -- I like a mixture of alfala, blood meal, and cottonseed meal scratched into the soil around the rootball. I'm in zone 7a.

Definitely amend the soil with fresh compost.

Cutting the rose bush by two-thirds (yes, a massive haircut) will get rid of the sickly parts and direct energy into the newest, healthiest branches.

You mentioned drought conditions -- roses love to be watered regularly and deeply. Put on a big sunhat and sunblock and try to water deeply at least twice a week this summer. Deep watering is the key -- you want the water to get deep into the soil where the rose's roots are.

And though some of my friends think it's bad for bees and butterflies, I do a very light spritz of neem oil on the leaves to discourage aphids and such.

Good luck! Your roses will make it.

.

No massive cut at this point. Diane

Closeup of leaf undersides from today … are these mites?? Or what? Yikes!! What do I spray or do for whatever this is…?

Agree yikes. Looks quite rusty.

Do you believe it arose since you took the first photos?

Ugh, rose rust

You need to spray with a fungicide -- ask at your local garden center for recommendations.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/rose-rust-disease.htm

No, I think it (whatever “it” is) was/is the problem… just worsening. I took all the photos I posted within the last week… so whatever this is was already going gangbusters. I should have looked closely at the undersides of the leaves early on when I first noticed it yellowing (kicking myself!) — I am so used to this particular rose being problem free every year (unlike the Queen Elizabeths, which get every fungus and infestation that exists). ‘Miracle’ never has had an issue until this year… what to do now, or is this beyond hope?!

Interesting:

I’ve never had a rose with rust. Nor seen (in person) a rose with rust. I know it troubles the roses of several posters here on this Forum.

On HMF, 2 comments mention rust afflicting MOTH.

https://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.61432&tab=1

One is from RNR. More meaningful than if it was from Sully himself.

Has there ever been a breeder whose name flows more alliteratively?

The only time I've seen a rose with rust, it had come from the west coast, and spent Memorial Day weekend with the post office. (who sends a plant cross-country on the Thursday before a long weekend?) I defoliated the rose, and its subsequent bouts of fungus were with the entirely too normal blackspot.

I have heard rumors of rust occuring in the Northeast, but no real idea how to deal with it.

I have never dealt with rust before, either ... battled plenty of other things with my two Queen Elizabeths, but 'Miracle on the Hudson' has until this year been absolutely, totally, reliably pest and disease free, aside from the usual (though not particularly numerous) Japanese beetles in July. I expect those. But I have never, ever seen anything like this on a rose. More importantly, when I cut back a few stems today, I encountered "mushy brown pith" all the way to the ground... on every single stem. This rose was wrapped in burlap and mulched for the winter (my usual procedure up here in north-central Connecticut) but of course we had a super strange winter with zero snowpack, bitter cold in February, record warmth in April and again last week, but otherwise a cold, raw, wet spring... except for the stints of sweltering summer temps. Poor plants, they are inside out and upside down. So I don't know what's happened to this beauty but I am going to pull it out and start over ... hoping I can find another one. Here it is in its glory last year...

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who replied!

That aligns with RNR’s observation of MOTH’s susceptibility to rust

in a ”stressed” rose.

I would cut it to the ground and see what happens since you already made your mind up to remove it...While you search for another MOTH... Just a thought... ???

I have never seen rust and know little about it...

I grew MOTH at my old house..Left there in 2020..

Mine had a case of something one year so I cut it to ground and it was fine the following years...

It grew back quite quickly here...