jbjulian

Sorry to hear about the problems. Hope your "river" has dried up. Good to have you back! I always learn something from you.

Sorry I haven't checked back in a while. Thanks for all the information. I looked at the pictures under the 'rose rosette' link. Mine didn't look like that. It grew normally, looked just like it has for the past ten years and all of a sudden it began to die one section at a time. I checked each cane when I removed them and saw no signs of rose borer. They weren't hollow or discolored. I'll wait and see what happens when they begin to grow this spring. I'll compare the rose that died back to the rose on the other side of the arbor - it was perfectly healthy all year long. It's such a care free plant that I was shocked when almost the whole thing died. Thank you for all of your input.

There is an identical rose on the other side of the arbor and it was beautiful and healthy all year long. I checked the canes when I cut each branch and they were not hollow or discolored at all.

I have a few more pictures if you want to see them. Let me know. Thank you for any advice you have. Judith

The buds would begin to open then simply wither.

This was taken two weeks later. It was obvious there were a lot more branches dying.

Hi Steve, Here is the rose shrub when it was in full bloom. This is when I saw the branches were beginning to yellow and die. I have more pictures to post but the files are big. Each will have to be in one post. Judith

That's a good point. Maybe I'll use vines instead. Nobody has been able to diagnose the problem yet.

We have a Cooper's hawk and a sharp shinned hawk who sit in our trees and sometimes right on a platform feeder. They usually take only one mourning dove a week and that seems to satisfy them. If I see them hanging out in the trees I open a window and let my Great Dane stick her head out and bark... that makes them leave quickly

Thanks for the information provided. My dying rose bush stayed partially alive through the garden walk. It was sparse but the rose on the other side of the arbor made up for it. By the end of fall I had cut out about 90% of the rose. There are only a few long canes left and most of it has been cut down to about one foot high. I plan to cut the shrub down to the ground early in the spring (or late winter if the weather cooperates). Do you think I should try to dig it out completely or wait to see if it comes back to life in the spring? Removing it would be a huge project since it's been in the ground for so long and there are a lot of perennials around it. If I do replace it I would consider maybe New Dawn. It is supposed to be as hardy as William Baffin and I think the color will coordinate with the existing William Baffin (medium pink). This spring I may plant some annual vines next to the stubs so there will be something flowering on that side of the arbor. Any other suggestions?

I have two of them and they are on either side of an arbor. I don't have a problem cutting the one that is dying to the ground but the other one looks just fine. I'm not a rose collector either but they have been beautiful and disease and pest free for ten years. As I cut down the dead canes I see new shoots coming up a few feet away. Unfortunately they aren't close to the arbor. The other problem is my gardens are going to be on a garden walk in eleven days. If I cut one down to the ground it will look pretty silly. I guess I will continue to saw down the dying canes and hope there is a little bit left for the garden walk.

Yes they are own root. By the time I cut out all the dying canes I can guess what the next step would be... replace it. I'm just curious as to what is happening to it.

Hi Janet and Steve, I've been growing William Baffin Roses for ten years and they have been spectacular. I have had no problems with them at all until this spring. There are two roses - one on each side of an arbor. They are in a southeast exposure and have been very healthy. A month ago I noticed several canes on one plant needed to be removed. The buds wilted and the leaves turned yellow. I cut them out and thought I had taken care of the problem. A week later there were two more canes that had to be removed. Today I noticed at least three more canes look the same - wilted buds and yellow leaves. The rose canes are about 15' tall and have been blooming beautifully. They get enough water and I fertilized them in May with Rosetone. I don't know what to do. At this rate it looks like I might lose more than half of the enormous plant. I have some pictures if they will help. Let me know if you want to see them. Thank you so much for any help you can provide.