if the foliage looks good, the problem is not watering. Tiny pests nipping the thin stems near the flowers could be one problem. Another could be simply that the plant is still settling in, and is abandoning its flowers in favor of growing some roots. What about reflected heat? Are they surrounded by hot pavement, or are the walls behind light colored ones that reflect a lot of heat? You'd likely see some foliage damage as well if that were the case.

Thanks for your reply! Glad to know I'm not overwatering it. It is between a brick patio and the house, which is dark grey. So, it could get some reflected heat, but it hasn't been that hot here lately and the leaves look good. I could try spraying it with oil in case there are bugs I haven't seen. If it's just growing roots, that's great - I can be patient! Any other thoughts/suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Only once all season with fish emulsion? I admire your restraint! (:
Takes lots of energy and food to give a good flush. And whenever I see yellow leaves at the base, I back off on water and think of iron. I would give her a nice feeding with a micro nutrient rose food. Good for root development and this years flowers!

'The Fairy' occasionally aborts a bunch of buds for no apparent reason. Stems under the buds turn pink and the buds yellow and wither. I've no idea why.

Don't spray with oil -- oil in August is likely to result in burned foliage. Its normal for older leaves at the base of the plant to yellow and drop late in the season. There's probably nothing wrong with your rose, its just settling in. In zone 6A its getting late to use granular fertilizer (you don't want to encourage new basal canes that won't survive winter). Please try to be patient with your rose and don't put lots of stuff on it. Next spring you can try to push growth.

The first year my The Fairy was planted, it didn't do a lot in terms of blooming and I seem to remember it had problems with yellowing leaves.

Now in its third year, my The Fairy takes care of itself, blooms regularly, and has no yellowing problems.

I say it is just a case of the old garden adage: the first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, the third year it leaps.

My sister and I did not have the same growth patterns. Same is true for roses--each rose has its own pattern--and different from the rose next to it.

Patience is a gardening virtue. : )

Kate

Sleeps, creeps, leaps. But I would still give her a nice dose of food. Even an organic to facilitate root development would do. General rule is to stop fertilizing 6 weeks before frost. You don't want to encourage new growth energy expenditure only to be killed by weather. In zone 5 that is September. The healthier they are the more likely they are to live thru Chicago winters. I also give less water and food as summer fades, try to mimic nature.

Thanks everyone for your helpful input! Michaelg, that's exactly what's happening. Susan, it's more about cluelessness than restraint!

It sounds like the best thing for me to do is just be patient and let it settle in this year. I'll give it one more light feeding (I'll look for a granular organic rose or root formula) and then allow it to wind down for the year. Looking forward to lots of flowers next year (or the year after)!

Sounds good.

About the yellow leaves at the base--if they are solid yellow, it's probably just old leaves being ditched by the plant because they are heavily shaded. If there are dark spots, it's probably cercospora spot, which you can safely ignore. One thing to be alert for, though, is spider mites. 'The Fairy' is particularly susceptible. Infested leaves have a gray-bronze cast with pale stippling on the top surface, and the lower surface looks dirty.