Question
I have grown roses for the past forty years and this year I'm unable to produce any buds on my T-roses and I have no flowers.  The problem is that the new growth blackens and falls off.  The foilage is nice, however as previousley stated ....no buds.  I have been using funguscide and insectiscide to no avail.  Could you please tell me what is the problem.  Thank You - Jennifer

Answer
A couple of things could be the cause of your problem. When growth dies it is usally something in the soil or a problem with the roots. It doesn't sound like insects as they don't do as much damage. A rose midge can make the buds whither and go black but not the canes. Also you would have killed any insects by spraying with the insecticide.
Rose galls on the roots or on the base of the canes can cause what you describe and even something as sinple as not enough water when the weather is very hot will make new growth die or be blackened and die. I have heard of the next door neighbour using a spray on the lawn which had drifted over and killed new growth. Yesterday someone told me that they had ordered a mulch and it caused serious problems with their roses. Even a spray for roses could do it.
I would prune back one of the rose bushes to about a foot, spray it with a fungicide and see if it returns healthy. If it does then I would do the same with the others. But should the bush keep dying then I would know it was definately in the soil or root system. Because it did well the other years it would definately be something that was done a few weeks earlier that caused the problem. Lynnette