I'd leave them be for now. In the spring you may need to clean up some dead wood on them anyway so you can give them a trim then. I don't ever do any rose pruning in the fall.

Few if any of us rose obsessives prune in the fall, except to whack off canes that are in the way. But beyond that issue, I wouldn't prune a first year rose unnecessarily at any time.

For blackspot, go to Lowes (or online) and get some Bayer Advanced Garden Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs--and make sure it is that name and not one of the other Bayer products. Also buy yourself a small handpump sprayer, follow directions carefully (it's something like 1.5 tbsp. per gallon) and spray earlier some morning when the wind is not blowing (and definitely not when it is boiling hot outside). Repeat in 2 weeks, if needed.

And be careful!

Kate

Kate, for the black spot, should I spray this fall or wait til spring to address the problem? Thanks

Definitely spray now. There is lots of blooming time left this autumn and you want your roses going into winter in as good health as possible.

Kate

I'm relatively new to roses. Wow, I haven't had a bloom in a month here in Central NY. Paul

In eastern zone 6 you should have growing and blooming weather I guess usually through October. It takes a freeze around 26 degrees to stop them--or running very short of moisture. They will gradually slow down owing to low light levels and chilly nights. But it's worthwhile taking care of them into the fall.

Mine seemed to only bloom 1 time this year- I did not deadhead. I guess I need to do some more studying! Paul

If they have new shoots growing, they should bloom within a month. It's not too late to fertilize moderately and water if needed. But if they are not growing, it is probably too late for new shoots to start and bloom this year in upstate NY. However, controlling blackspot now will help them survive the winter. Deadheading at midsummer would help them bloom more.

This post was edited by michaelg on Tue, Sep 10, 13 at 16:14

I ordered a soil test from GoodEarth after doing a search on this site for soil test kits. Thanks- Paul

This post was edited by victory_tea2085 on Tue, Sep 10, 13 at 17:06