Question
I already have aphids on my Dr. Van Fleet roses and my 3 knockout rosebushes.  I pick them off every day.  Also, my Glamis Castle rose has blackspot.  Is there anything I can do for the aphids? and, should I cut back the Glamis Castle rose to let it start anew?  We've gotten such crazy weather here I'm amazed they are still blooming. Will my knockouts keep on blooming or do I deadhead them?  I live in central Kentucky (near Lexington) Zone 6, I believe.  Thank you

Answer
Aphids reproduce very quickly and although you try many times you do leaves a few on the bush and away they go again. Using a hose will wash them all off. Once they fall on the ground they don't have enough strength to get back on the bush for a long time and by then the birds will have eaten them up like candy.
Never cut a bush back when it gets a problem, as it needs all the growth to fight the disease. There are rose sprays for black spot and they will keep it under control for you. Weird weather causes all sorts of problems that the roses would other wise not get.
Knock Out roses put out a lot of blooms and you can, if you want to, dead head them but it really won't make much difference or I should say you probably wouldn't notice the difference as they bloom so well and so long. When you get strange weather, just keep telling yourself that the weather is strange and is causing the problems and not the roses.