Question
My knock out roses have been beautiful all summer.  We just went through the horrible winds from Hurricane Ike and now are dropping leaves.  I don't know if the problem started before or during the hurricane.  I do know that a couple of the bushes are now not as stable now that they have been whipped around with the high winds.  Should I fertilize?  I don't want to lose these beautiful shrubs.

Answer
Knock Out roses will take more abuse than most other roses. If they have become unstable then they should be firmed up. Just put your feet on either side of the rose bush and rock back and forth on your shoes. This will press the roots into the soil and stabilize the plants. There really isn't any need for fertilizer as the plants will be starting to shut down for winter type weather. The hurricane will have put them under stress and that is not the time to fertilize as the roots won't be able to take it up properly. If you are going to have more warm weather, then the rose will put out new leaves to replace the ones they lost. I would wait until next spring to give them any fertilizer.