Question
I planted 40 red double knockout roses at our church.  Some have more shade than others.  Some of the ones in the really hot sun have developed lots of yellow leaves.  I am concerned that I am losing them.  They have been in the ground about 4 or 5 months and were beautiful until the extreme hot weather.  I think they got too dry at one point, but all are not yellowing.  Should I feed them or just wait?

Answer
Roses often fall back when planted in a different location especially during the summer. The roots go into shock because of the warm weather. Yellow leaves are not a disease it is just how the rose re-acts when it has gone under stress. They won't die even if they drop all their leaves as roses can re-grow new leaves three times without effecting their health. Never feed roses when they are suffering from high heat as the chemicals will burn the leaves when the roots take the fertilizer up to them. Just keep watering to keep the soil damp but not wet and when the weather returns to normal you will see good clean growth starting again. Many gardeners have found that their roses have suffered badly this year from sudden high heat temperatures. High heat won't kill if you keep watering but it will make the rose plants look sick.