Question
Thanks!! The roses where pruned for the winter, but they looked dead or diseased before he fertilized them.  He did take very drastic measures after this in pruning them...there is actually very little left of them, I am actually worried that they are not going to grow back.  Is there anything else we can do after pruning them?  Do they need to be given rose food or anything like that, or should we just water them and leave them be?

Thanks,
Regina


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Followup To
Question -
Hello,

We moved into our house last year and it had Beautiful Samba Roses. They were established and the bush was about 3 feet wide and 4 foot tall. Recently they have gotten white and black spots along the think barked parts and have not bloomed while everyone's in the rest of the neighbor hood has. Only one even has a green spot. Now I use the word was because my husband first noticed the problem and Put Miracle Grow, tree and shrub stake feeders around them, then followed with Miracle Grow Shrub potting soil on top of that, with cedar chips as mulch, then put rose food from a sprayer on top of that, and miracle grow quick start. With 2 weeks of no luck and plenty of watering. He just up and went and chopped off any part that was not green in hopes of "preserving the piece". I hope by this he meant let the plants utilize the most of the nutrients without feeding dead limbs. But who knows men sometimes. If you cant fix it, break it right.

Please help. They were so beautiful and presented about a dozen blooms a week. What can I do?!
By the way,we live in OKC
Regina.
Answer -
Hi Regina-

First of all - please stop fertilizing the roses - from the info above it sounds like they may have been over-fertilized.  Second - did you prune the roses this winter?  If you don't prune them each winter - the old growth can become diseased. I think your husband did the right thing in cutting out the dead part of the roses - but he may not have gone far enough.  I would take drastic measures to save these roses.  I would prune them about 4" to 6" above the bud union (the bud union is the bump in the stem a few inches above the groud).  Use a pruning saw. This will not hurt the roses.  By cutting out all the diseased parts - this will help regenerate the roses.  Then if you notice any more discoloration or dark spots on any new growth (which I doubt would happen), please use a fungicide spray from your local garden center.

Hope this helps-

Carlene

Answer
Hi Regina-

It sounds like they have been fertilized more than enough, but please continue to water them.  In the future you may want to try a organic method of fertilizing - sometimes too much chemical fertilizer can kill a rose.  A good organic fertilizer is cow manure or fish emulsion.

Other than that - only time will tell.  Unfortunately - hybrid tea roses usually don't live that long - with a few exceptions.  If the roses do die, you may want to replace some of them with longer-living roses like tea or china roses (as long as you live in a USDA region 7 or higher) or with EarthKind roses (check out the Texas A&M website).

Good luck-

Carlene