If the white spots stayed in place when you looked at them, they aren't white fly.
White Fly (flies) have a pesky way of taking off, en masse, when even slightly disturbed.
The small white specks that folks see on the buds and fresher stems of roses at this time of year are often the carcasses of aphids: some eaten but mostly molts left behind as the aphids grow.

Yes, I had some of those aphid carcasses a few weeks ago. Do they look like this:

{{gwi:245945}}

Ann and Yorkrose were nice enough to identify them for me and prevent me from spending lots of $$ on spider mite remedies.

Yes, I think so. My aphids are green, yours look reddish?

I've had green, red, black and if you look closely there's even a white aphid on there. I think they come in many differnt colors. The ones on my milkweed are usually yellow. I think there are specific aphids for different plants.

My neighbor had a bad whitefly infestation on her gardenia and they will fly around especially if you swat the bush. These white flakes just sit there.

I think aphids colour, according to what they are feeding on. Look at the ghastly ones that hug the stalks of dahlias, they are usually blackish.

Redsox, I am pretty shore what you are talking about is a stage of the aphis or carcass as someone wrote above. I have had to deal with this big time, but mostly on plants I am wintering indoors or in the greenhouse. The sticky residue that accompanies it is pretty gross. My biggest problems were on hibiscus.

Outside plants like roses, I seem to deal with better as I squish them when I see them, even if they are hugging on to rose buds. If you check your roses often, it is easy enough to keep squishing. :)

Cheers!
Pauline - Vancouver Island

Aphids do indeed come in a variety of colors, and the same species can indeed come in different colors depending on what it's feeding upon, so you're both correct.

Whiteflies are sometimes nicknamed "flying dandruff" because that's just about a perfect description of how they appear.

I have had to deal with this big time, but mostly on plants I am wintering indoors or in the greenhouse. The sticky residue that accompanies it is pretty gross. My biggest problems were on hibiscus.

That sticky residue is called "honeydew". It's full of sugar and that's why it's sticky. Under the right circumstances fungi will grow upon the honeydew, eating it.