Question
bushes planted few months ago.  They bloomed in May, were beautiful. I June
went away for 2 weeks, hardly any rain came home all blooms gone and the
bottom part of leaves were eaten off. Some leaves are turning brown.  Some
bushes started to flower. I've been watering and now sprayed with rose spray.
Do you think they are dying or will come back. What can I do? Live in Georgia

Answer
Well first of all the roses are not dying. Roses can really look bad and still bounce back and grow normally. The reason your roses are not performing well is because they are under stress due to lack of water. When a rose is first transplanted it will go into  sort of semi shock because the situation and conditions are not the same that it is used to. Roses will adjust but they need time to get used to a new situation. You give them some fertilizer and then a lot of water to make sure they like the new surroundings.. Your roses were starting to adjust to your garden conditions and then the lack of rain hit them. In regards to the lower leaves eaten off, that depends on what creatures you have in your area. They lost their fear when there was no one around to scare them. Now that you are back home, you might be able to see what is doing the damage or they may stay away because you are there.I would water them really well as that is what you do when roses are first planted. If you haven't then give them some rose fertilizer and  wait for a couple of weeks and with your care, you will see them start to grow better and bloom for you.