Question
My husband got me a potted white rose bush for our 3rd anniversary and its been slowly dying ever since.  Its leaves slowly turn light green then wither and die.  It gets this spider web sort of stuff and stiky little brown spots.  What is it and how do I fix it. I really want to keep my rose bush. Please help.

Answer
A little indoor rose is no different than a large outdoor one in the garden and so they do prefer to be in the garden. The thing to do is to try and give it the same conditions indoors. First get rid of those spider mites as they are the insets that are killing your rose. Use an insecticide because alas there is no organic spray that will do the job for you. Spray the plant according to the directions on the bottle. Try something like a Bayer product as they are good but not nasty. Then place a plastic bag over the whole pot and plant and leave it on for a day. This stops any of them escaping and starting again it also kills the eggs in the soil around the base. After that replant the rose in a larger pot as most store pots are too small and make the roots too hot. A happy rose has cool roots. After repotting, cut the rose back by a third, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of some slow release type fertilizer such as Osmocote 14-14-14 around the base and place the rose in a very sunny window. Fill up a spray bottle with water and give the plant a good misting daily. The dry lack of humidity in a home is what encourages spider mites to breed. It also makes the thin rose leaves dry out and drop off. When the weather turns warm outside place the pot where it gets sun but not the very hot afternoon type. It will mainly need the morning type sun. These greenhouse roses are far more tender than the garden ones but they still need the same situations. You won't have to spray it out doors just give it another couple of tablespoons of the slow release type fertilizer and that will do it until the fall when it will need a rest. Hope this helps.