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I hope its not dead. I'm having quite some trouble with my rose bush. I'm not sure what kind it is, the lady at the plant nursery didn't know, it was from the year before and wasn't blooming when we bought it. It had yellow flowers (Not yellow turning to orange, but straight yellow) and did well for a while. At one point there was 8 blooms, 4-5 blooming at a timn. Now, it looks horrible and I'm hoping it survives. The picture will show how bad it is.

[img]https://i27.tinypic.com/2hq9idk.jpg[/img]
(that's tree bark below it, helps it from drying out too fast, still dries daily)

I'm not sure what did it, or if if was a combo of things but I'm hoping it lives. I was feeding it Bayer Rose and Flower care for a while, but then ran out and started using a multi purpose fertilizer like miracle grow. I'm working on building up better compost so I can do away with the fertilizers. I keep it watered, just about every day as the dirt dries out daily and other than that haven't done much to it. I also went out of town for a week, and my mother-inlaw who was supposed to water it, didn't really water it but maybe twice.

What's gone wrong, the fertilizer? The heat (we're breaking 100 now)?
Please tell me it'll survive, and come back next year.

I'm not experienced enough with roses to give you an absolute answer as to what caused this to happen to your plant. However, in the picture, it appears that the mulch is right up against the stem of the rose bush.

Except when completely covering a plant with mulch to help it survive freezing weather, mulch should be kept at least 4 to 6 inches away from the base of a plant. One of the things that can happen is that the mulch can cause the temperature of the soil to rise enough to damage or kill the roots of the plant.

Again, I don't know if that's what happened to your plant, but you might want to check any other plants you have that are mulched right up to the stem, and move the mulch away a bit.

It died before the mulch was put down, I just added it about two days ago. I will however, give the other plants some room, although most haven't been affected yet.

First, give the poor thing a good overnight soak. Just in case....

Then, get out your pruning shears. Trim the stems back, one node at a time (from growth bud to growth bud). Look at the newly-exposed stem carefully: if the stem is brown and dry to the core, it's dead. Cut again. Look again.

If at any time you see green wood in the center of a stem, STOP cutting that stem.

This examination will leave you (I hope) with the parts of the plant which survived a week in 100-degree-plus heat with no water.

And, for the sake of your plants, ask a fellow gardener to take care of the plants whenever you need to leave again. Maybe a neighbor? We now know that MIL will not carry through.

Good luck.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

It was watered one or twice, but I can get it pruned up. I'm thinking it was the fertilizer, since it happened around me usig that. Can I expect much of it still this year, or just wait for it next year to be green again.

Keep it alive for this year. That will be your Good Deed for the plant.

Next year you should have terrific blooms!

Cynthia

Cynthia gave great advice here.

I would like to add that if you just planted it this season, Roses like to have a 'well' around their feet. At the base of the plant, push all the aside and create a little well to hold in the water or to keep the water focused to just the rose bush.

Good luck with the pruning and creating the well. Keep us posted on it's progress.