Question
I am in zone 7a,near Richmond Virginia. My mother bought a rose bush and planted it in early spring. She planted it in a pot using miracle gro potting soil. It gets plenty of sun, fertilizer and water. It looks very healthy, no fungus or spots or beetles. A new shoot did grow and is more than 6 feet tall, but we have not seen any blooms or even buds all year. Please help! What should we do or what are we doing wrong?

Answer
You are not doing anything wrong because your rose is acting normal. Many roses will put out new growth, even for a year, and then when they are at a certain size will start producing flowers. Another reason why roses don't bloom but look healthy, is because they are getting too much fertilizer. I wonder if there is some small amount of fertilizer in the Miracle Gro soil. Anyway I would stop anymore fertilizing for this year as it is planted in good soil. This will slow down the growth of greenery and make it consider blooming. Hope this helps.