Question
Thank you so much for the response.  I am going to get on that fertilizer.  You know I bought this Dr Earth 5-7-2 Rose and Flower fertilizer before I got the response from you.  Is it no good?  Also, what do those numbers mean (5-7-2, or 14-14-14) And I'll get the spray for the midge.  I have some spray and obviously it hasn't been working . I've been using this Ready to Use Sevin Bug Killerstuff.  How often do I spray the insectiside?

Another question...Do I have to cut off the buds after they open up and have died?  I've heard you are suppose to "Dead Head" them or something like that?  Am I suppose to do that and if so how?  And is there any pruning I'm suppose to be doing?  And what is pruning for roses anyways?  

You know the containers they came in are over 18 inches deep.  I don't really have the money to get the big planter boxes I want.  But the nursery planted them so low in the containers that ther are only about 12 inches deep and the roots are growing out the bottom.  Could I replant them into the same container, just add soil on the bottom so they have more depth?  just as a quick fix..

Thanks for the help-,
Yvonne
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Followup To
Question -
Please help me.  I bought some roses about  2 weeks ago.  I live in Los Angeles.  The plants face South so they get sun all day long.  I got ones that said 4-5 hrs of sun minumum required because it is such a high sun area.   I ended up with 2 iceberg bushes, a Peace  and a Fair Bianca.  
The iceberg that gets the least amount of sun seems to be doing ok.  It has green leaves and still has some flowers but there aren't that many buds coming in and I chose this type of rose because I heard that it gets the most flowers all year round.
The Peace and Fair Bianca had flowers when I got them and they did fine and the buds that they had did open up  but once they did no new ones have come in.  The buds that do come in droop and never open up.  One of them had the whole brown edge thing on the bud but the rest just drooped and never opened.  I cut off all the flowers that had bloomed and died and all the buds that looked unhealthy and now I have no new buds.  The leaves look a little droopy.
The last iceberg plant has just not been doing good.  No new buds have come in and the leaves are turning yellow near the base.  It has no roses on it and the leaves are a little droopy.

I water all the roses 2-3 times a week.  They are droopy but I don't want to water them more because the soil isn't completely dry.  We have been dealing with ants and aphids.  They were on the flowers within 24hrs of getting them in our back yard.  We got some spray for them but they still get on the plants.  Any advice on that?

They are all small bushes.  About 12-24 inches high. They are all still in the black pots we bought them in.  We plan to put them in planters because we are renters and want to take them with us when we move.  DO you have any advice on that too?  I haven't done anything with fertilizer.  I heard to put Epson salt in the dirt.  Should I do that?  I just need help I don't want to lose the roses... I don't really know how to take care of roses if they were doing good:(

Yvonne
Answer -
Lets start with some rose facts.
Roses like sun but not all day. To bloom and grow well, they must have a minimum of 6 hours full sunshine.
Roses resent being disturbed and they consider re-planting a disturbance. They get even by dropping their leaves.
Roses love cool, damp roots and hate small pots because it makes their roots too warm. If the plants have been in them for a long time in the nursery, then you will defintely get problems. Often when in pots, roses get root bound and the feeder roots can't take up enough water and so the top growth wilts.
Your chances of getting insects on a nursery plant are very good and you will have to spray for a while.
So having said all that here is the best thing you can do.
I would try and get them out of the pots as soon as you can. You can put them into plastic pots just make sure they are large enough. Most roses will need a pot that is 18" deep. The deepth is the most important thing as they roots won't get bound up. Pot them up in potting soil not just garden dirt. Potting soil lets the water go through without packing the soil down.
Place the roses where they will get morning sun and some afternoon sun up to about 2 o'clock. Any evening sun after 5 is okay too.
Aphids are easy to get rid of just take the hose and wash them off. Ants don't usually bother a rose. If you are organic then just place some sugar on the ground away from the roses and the ants will prefer that. You may also have rose midges and they will make the buds go brown and drop off. Bayer puts out a good insect spray and I get good reports on it.
In regards to fertilizing. Roses like to steadly munch on food not get it in a large gulp. For pots just use slow release fertilizer such as Ormocote 14-14-14 and then every time you water it releases a little fertilizer.
Epson salts is a root stimulator but I wouldn't put it in the pots because it will change the soil's chemical balance. Wait until they are in a permenant place and then in the spring, mix 2 tablespoons of Epson Salts with any amount of water and pour in on the soil.
After you have potted them up, they will go into another snit, but just ignore them and keep watering and in time you will see new growth plus flowers. Hope this helps. Lynnette


Answer
There are no fertilizers that are no good as they all give nutrients to a plant. However certain plants require more of a certain chemical than others. Because roses make so many flowers, they need more phosphrous than other plants. So you need a fertilizer that has a high middle number. The first number is nitrogen (needed for growth of leaves and canes) the second number is phosphrous (needed to make flowers) and the last number is potash (needed to make strong roots). So you can use any fertilizer (regardless of what the package says it is for) that has a higher middle number.
Any insecticide will have detailed instructions on how to use their product on the package. Lynnette