Another rose that sits next to the Firefighter is the Peter Mayle. It's starting to show little black dots. It has the same maintenance as the Firefighter.

Thank you again and I'm in very much need of advice and suggestions for better care of the roses. Maybe I'm watering too much, we're hitting 80s so its not too hot just yet. I don't know, but look forward to your responses.

Dish soap in hot weather will certainly burn the foliage, looks like you fried Firefighter. In the future, just squish the aphids with your fingers.

For best results, please consider using a complete rose food like Espoma Rose Tone.

How much to water depends alot on your soil type -- sandy? clay? If you tell us what city/state you live in, you will receive better regional advice.

Cecily, thank you for the response and good to know about the dish soap....I had no idea! Would it be good to keep some neem oil on hand? I'll also look into a more complete rose food for this coming feeding.

I live in Gilbert, AZ. The soil here is majority clay and the bed has cedar mulch on it as well.

The safest way to deal with aphids is to blow them off with a strong blast of water from a hose.

Too much fertilizer is way more dangerous than too little - I agree that a balanced rose food would be much better than anything else, but don't overdue it. You don't need to foliar feed. Just let the rose grow with water and a little food. Sounds like you have good soil, and of course you have good sun. Be patient and let the rose do the rest. Too much fussing with them can be the cause of many many problems.

Jackie

It's never good to spray anything, oils, soap, fertilizer, etc., when temperatures are above 80 degrees. It can burn the leaves. The easiest way to combat aphids is to just wipe them off with your fingers. I do that first and then also give the bush a good hard spray of water to catch any I missed.

When you fertilize always water the plants well first, usually the day before, so they are hydrated. And then, depending on the fertilizer, again afterward. If you are using a foliar feed wait until the next day and water so you are not washing it off the leaves too soon. I'm really not familiar with soybean meal as a fertilizer but it should be an organic and safe to use any time.

Your roses don't really look all that bad. You have some leaf burn and maybe some insect damage but all and all they look pretty healthy.

Thanks a bunch for your help and advice. I got myself some Rose Tone and will be putting it down this coming weekend with plenty of water.

I'm wondering a bit about the cedar mulch; it seems I heard somewhere it can inhibit plant growth. If I'm wrong, would appreciate others speaking up--I may be totally wrong.
I heartily approve of organic mulch and organic amendments, and with clay soil you may not need much beyond them. And I second Jackie (who has a beautiful garden: have you seen photos of it?) about the risks of too much fussing over roses.
Your roses look pretty good; you're on your way to having a good garden.
Melissa

I only use cedar mulch, and I have not observed any problems with the product retarding growth.

I only use cedar mulch as well. No problems. I did notice that it cuts down on bug activity, which is good

If you're going to spray soapy water to kill aphids, do it early in the morning, and then rinse off the roses with plain water before the mid-day heat sets in. And don't use any oil when temps are above 85F.

:-)

~Christopher