Question
We have 8 of the red double knock out rose bushes.  Last week, I noticed that more than half of the new buds were either pale pink or white.  The tips of the blooms are browning VERY quickly and they are dying quickly also.  I don't have nearly as many blooms as I did before.  Any thoughts on what could be causing this...and how I can fix it.  Thank you.

Answer
What you are describing is a lack of water. Have you had a change in the weather such a more heat. This is a sure thing to cause problems with roses if they don't get extra water. When the weather is warm, sprinklers don't often do the job and hand watering seems to be best as you can direct a stream of water right at the base of the rose bush. The lack of blooms is because the rose is under stress and the first thing a rose does to save itself is to get rid of the flowers or not make any. The other possibility is that you fertilized the roses when it was hot as roses can get burned when fertilized in high heat. I know that lack of water as the reason the roses are not doing well sounds too simplistic but if you dig down alongside of a bush, the soil should be damp to at least 5 inches.