Question
I planted 3 new roses this year, 2 last year, and have 3 very old roses.  They all looked good and were blooming in the spring, but look bad now.  

My St. Patricks gets buds on it, but they don't open.  The Miss All American Beauty has stopped blooming altogether.  The Knock-out blooms some, but not much.  

All of the roses have yellow leaves (no black spot) and don't look healthy.  They all get at least 8-10 hours of direct sunlight each day.  By end of day, they sometimes look wilted.

Living in South Texas (50 miles south of Corpus Christi), it is hot and dry here.  I usually water them deep once a week.  I was going to spray them with an insecticide, but it said not to use when temps are over 90 - which is every day here.

Any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Jan-

In Texas there has been a severe drought, so even though you are watering once a week - your area may still be several inches below the normal rainfall quotient.  When the weather starts getting in the 90's or 100's I start watering about every 4 to 5 days.  It sounds like your roses may be deficient in the water category, which can cause yellow leaves and buds not to open properly.  Try the two knuckle rule - if you stick your finger in the ground and it is dry two knuckles down - it is time to water.  

I have heard some rose experts say that each roses needs 2-3 gallons of water a day, which I think it excessive in our area with clay soil.  But, keep in mind that roses love to guzzle water.  Some are drought tolerant and will survive drought, but they will not bloom.  Another thing about roses is they don't like extreme heat.  They are like people - they don't like to come out when its hot.  Many summers when there is a drought here - the roses go into hibernation in the summer time.  Then when fall and winter comes - they are start to bloom again with the cooler temps.  Because we have such a long season here - its not realistic for us to expect our roses to bloom like gang busters in triple digit heat.  Hang in there - and try more frequent watering, and I would expect a lot of blooms by September.  Also - hold off on the fertilizing in this extreme heat because that will increase the heat stress of the rose and possibly kill it.

Thanks,

Carlene