Carefree Rose Bush After Late Freeze – Scratch Test for Life

Don't prune yet. Check canes:

Scratch with fingernail: Green under bark = alive (leaves killed only). Bud eyes can produce 3 leaf sets.
Brown like sugar: Dead – prune to live growth low down.

Only leaves froze. New leaves will emerge from same buds. Patience.

Roses: Reviving a Declining Potted Rose Houseplant; Sudden Leaf Drop on Healthy Rose: Root Zone Investigation; Heat-Stressed Rose in Colorado: Yellow Leaves, Brown Tips; Shot Hole Fungus on Don Juan Rose – Not Insects; Diagnosing Yellowing Leaves and Defoliation in Roses: Iron Deficiency and Black Spot; Why Climbing Roses Drop Leaves After Spring Bloom: Common Causes and Fixes; Rapid Defoliation: Caterpillars or Deer? Diagnosing Complete Leaf Loss on Roses; Rose Slugworm (Sawfly Larvae) Damage: Skeletonized Leaves on Standard Roses; Rose Bush Losing Leaves After Transplant – Root Stress; Yellow Leaves with Holes: Insects, Watering, and the Two-Knuckle Test

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