Question
I'm new at gardening and I believe I got the black thumb, no matter what I do things aren't working well, maybe because of the heavy clay soil that we have here, I live in zone 9 in San Ramon Ca & I planted a Don Juan climbing rose in my new yard, it's been 6 month and from far away it's looking great with big red blooms then when I took a close look I found it covered with rust on the leaves, I sprayed it for 3 days then I read that I have to remove the infected leaves, I did that this morning but I ended up with bare stems and some blooms on them, it looks pretty sad, did I kill my plant? is it hopeless should I just dig it out? also right next to it cl. iceberg and under it couple of carpet rose, and I noticed they're all getting black spots and aphids on them although they starting blooming and looking good. PLEASE help, and do you think it's ok to spray them with liquid fertilizers and pesticides at the same time would be Ok?  

Answer
Roses really do prefer clay in the soil it is much better than a sandy soil. If you have added one third sand and one third compost or any mulch you can get in your area, then roses should do well for you. Don Juan can be tricky to grow. It is just one of those roses that gets in a snit for no reason. Taking the leaves off won't help the rust problem but don't worry because roses can easily grow another set of leaves when the first ones are gone. Use a rose fungicide to get ride of the rust. If that doesn't work then I think you may have a dud of a climber. I don't see that you are in an area that would get rust. Aphids are easy to get rid of because they can't climb back up once they are knocked off with a hose. The birds eat them like candies. Black spot will also need a fungicide so when you spray the Don Juan then also spray the carpet roses. Don't use a pesticide as you don't need it just use the fungicide and that should solve your problem. You know it really does depend where you buy your roses. If you get them from a local nursery sometimes that is the problem as they may not be looked after well. Don't blame yourself if a rose doesn't do well it honestly may be the rose isn't healthy. Hope this helps.