Cut off all the dead canes. DO NOT take off any leaves that are still green. They are feeding the plant and it needs them. Keep them well watered but not soggy wet and do not feed them any fertilizer until they begin to regrow.

The canes might have canker? If it were me I'd remove all those canes to the ground that were black like that.

But see what others say first... Because I grow all own root roses and have never grown a grafted rose yet...

It's like aids in humans. No one actually dies directly of aids. It's the secondary infections that cause death.

If you like having roses but don't want to spray them regularly, you could replant with old tea roses (not "hybrid teas") or modern roses from the Knock Out series or the Kordes Fairy Tale series.

That leave is definitely black spot. As Kidhorn said the black spot can weaken the rose so that if anything else pops up it can die but on it's own it's rarely a killer.

If you've lost that many roses I think you need to check of other things. And my best guess is either there's a drainage problem and they're sitting in too much water or they aren't getting enough water. Have you dug up any of the ones that have died? What did the root balls look like? How was the soil at the bottom? Soggy or hard clay? There could be a lot of reasons why they're failing so the more specific information you can give us the better.

We did have a very cold winter with several freezes so it is possible some of them are suffering from that. We have an irrigation system that we have adjusted thinking they were getting too much water, but that has not seemed to stop their deterioration. Right now it runs for 15 minutes. The roses are planted on the top of a slope so I feel like they drain well.

The soil does have some clay in it, but it is bagged soil for at least 6 inches. We have pulled up some dead roses, but I cannot remember the condition of the roots. I want to say they were sparse.

I wanted to include a picture of the entire garden so you can see the condition of most of my roses. In the middle are knockout roses planted about 2 years ago (they are the healthiest). The other three sections (from this angle: front, left and right beds are pretty pitiful looking. It almost seems like whatever this is is spreading.

Now go out and buy the fungicide Michael recommended: Bayer Garden Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs. You can get it a Lowes or online (but not at the other big box stores). Spray that fungicide (following directions) every 2 weeks, all season.

For food, buy an organic fertilizer like one of the --Tones: Plant-Tone or Rose-Tone. Should be available at most big box stores, definitely at Home Depot--or online. See directions for monthly feedings.

There -- that covers everything you need to do. Except that I am wondering how much shade those trees put out. Roses are sun-lover. In too much shade, they don't bloom as well and often have more problems with diseases. If the roses are getting less than 6 hours of sun, perhaps consider planting compact hydrangeas there instead.

Oh, and do check your moisture levels periodically. Stick a finger about 4 inches into the soil: dry? too wet? that should tell you if you are overwatering the roses. Overwatering also can cause problems with yellow leaves and blackspot.

Let us know how it works out. Good luck.

Kate