Question
Hi, to let you know first the closiest city I live to is St. Louis, Mo. I am a first time rose grower and I have 9 bushes at this time. They seem to be doing good, but my question is my bush will bloom one or more roses and they look beautiful but with-in a couple of days they die and the petals fall off. Is this normal? Also if it is, do I prune off that bloom and how far down do I prune them? Thanks for your time.

Answer
When roses do as you describe it is usually for two main reasons. One they are not getting enough water or there is a little insect that is damaging the flowers before they open. To see if there are ant bugs doing the damage then take a piece of white paper and shake the opening buds ( not the flowers as they could have some normal insects on them) and see if there are any tint black fly like insects on the paper. If there is then you will have to spray with a rose insecticide. Any rose spray for insects will do the job for you. Simply follow the directions on the label. If the trouble is lack of water or a sudden hot spell, roses need about 5 gallons of water per week. They like one large gulp not a lot of little sips. 5 gallons is roughly a bucket of water. So if you can make a saucer like dish around the base of the rose bush and then slowly pour the water in, you then won't have to water for another 5 days. Any kind of 3 inches of mulch you can get in your area spread around the base of the rose will also keep the roots cool and damp. Roses love to have their roots cool and damp.
Never mind all the complicated instructions about how to prune roses it really is simple. In the spring before they start to grow, cut out any dead or diseased canes. Then cut the rose back to 18 inches. That is the same height as your knees. This is old garden wisdom, always cut your roses back top your knee caps. Spring any rose fertilizer all around the base ( a handful is fine) and your roses will do well for you. Hope this helps.