I purchased my first roses last summer. Initially I planted them in a location with too little sunlight. I transplanted all of them into pots with a location with about 8 hours of sun a day. However, as you can see from the pictures at the link below, they still look pitiful. I would like to see them bushier/fuller even if that means less blooms this season. I need help! I have taken a rose growing class at my local community center, but I think I need 1:1 help. Is pruning the only option here? I pruned last November and they still look spindly. I fed them and sprayed for pests in late April, but I don't think it has done much...or is not the answer.

I am relying on the kindness of strangers to help out a novice:-) I thank you in advance!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/78200311@N08/?uploaded=8&magic_cookie=5c4 2d731ba4080e63849c4f17296a1e0

The Walking on Sunshine looks like it might have frost damage. We've had some wild weather this spring, sometimes the foliage will wilt.

It also looks like it has winter damage on the canes. I would do no more pruning now, wait some weeks and any stems that turn completely brown can be trimmed back.

I use organic fertilizers in my garden setting. I like to use organic liquid fertilizers as a soil drench for new and established roses.

I typically prune in the spring time.

Canes die from the exposed tip backwards during winter, so if you cut them back in the fall, then you can expect cane die-back to progress further down the canes (towards the ground) than if you hadn't cut them back. For that reason, I prune in the spring instead of the fall & that's generally when most of the folks here do their pruning. There are exceptions; some people prefer to take some height off of roses that may thrash about or break in high winds during the dormant season.

There does appear also to be sawfly damage as collin said. Roses will recover from that as they grow new leaves, but sawflies tend to run in cycles during the spring and summer.

At this point, I'd cut/prune the canes back to remove the dead ends & it should resume healthy growing soon as long as its sunlight & water requirements are heeded. They look like new roses to me; young, first year plants. You can foster better root growth by pinching off the first set of buds that develop. This would redirect the rose's energy towards root growth instead of bloom growth.

just keep giving them sunshine and organic food

Cut off all the black/brown tips. Leave the holey leaves, they're still functioning even with the holes. The plant will drop them when it no longer needs them. Spray them with some insecticidal soap to get rid of what ever is chewing on them. Keep them well watered but not soggy and feed them a good balanced fertilizer. Any type will do. To try and stimulate some new canes you can give them some Epsom Salts too. But remember that roses take at least 3 years to mature so yours are still doing that. Be patient.

Make sure to keep them watered, and kelp (seaweed) is good to give to stressed plants.

Deanna

With new roses, about the only thing you should be doing is removing spent blooms. Try to cut a bloom off at the nearest five-leaflet leaf, but if you can't without removing a lot of growth - let it be by just removing the spent bloom. It's better to save the leaves during the growing season with young roses. Keep in mind, though, that removing the spent blooms and cutting back to a five-leaflet leaf (if you can) will actually encourage more growth.

Wait until they get about 2-3 feet tall and several canes of growth before you really do serious annual pruning - and only in the spring, when the Forsythias are in bloom. After that, with very mature roses you can cut down on each bloom's stem to leave at least two five-leaflet leaves.

It's just my personal opinion, too, but none of my 85 roses are in pots. It may be pots are needed to keep your roses alive during winter up north (by taking them in?). With few exceptions, though, they're not going to get super-productive unless they're in the ground. ;-)