Question
Hello! I have a Leonidas rose that developed an aphid problem. I took care of the aphids by spraying a "dormant" spray on them(while still dormant) and rinsed it off with water the way the directions said to. I usually don't use chemical spray and that was probably my mistake but now my rose has dropped all of its new growth and looks to be slowly deadening off. Is it just in shock? Will it come back? Is there anything I can do to it? It is my favorite rose and I really don't want to lose it, any information you have I would very much appriciate it. Thank you for your time.

Answer
Your rose is re-acting to the sulphur in the dormant spray as this will kill the leaves but not the rose bush. Take your clippers and cut off all the dead and sad looking foliage. This will help the rose in activating new fresh growth. Now if the aphids return, use a hose to wash them off because once they are knocked off the rose on the ground, they cannot climb up again and birds eat them like candy. Once your rose has been cut back, it will re-grow good leaves and will bloom for you.