Question
I have had a hedge of ragusa roses for ten years and they always bloomed regularly.  I live about 25 miles north of New York City in Westchester County.  All of a sudden all the roses died this year.  What would cause this?  Could someone had put something on them to kill them?  Please advise.  I want to know whether I should replace them because I don't want the next group to die as well.

Answer
This is a difficult question because your roses were doing well and then suddenly died. How they died is the most important question. What colour did the leaves turn and did they look twisted as this would tell you a herbicide used on a lawn has drifted onto the bush. Did the canes go black as this would be too much water on the roots and they rotted. Did you spray anything, even fertilizer on the leaves, as Rugosa will not tolerate most sprays. Was there any fertilizer or chemicals such as Epson Salts, put around the base os the bushes. Again Rugosa may be very tough but they are extremely sensitive to most chemicals. Can you dig one up and see if the bushes have got rose canker. Rose canker looks like small growths, usually on the base of the canes. Check to see if the roots have small, black nodes on them like knotted shoe laces. Do you live near another gardener that may have accidently sprayed something on them. The clue here will definitely be the leaves. It may be a wisdom to take a bush to your department of agriculture for their oeinion. Please get back to me on some of these questions as your problem is very interesting but very serious. Looking forward to your answers.