Don't feel too bad. You could be in the desert...in a drought...

But I DO feel horrible about it. I'm kind of acclamated to the fact, but still very sad.

Most modern roses like HEAT.. If they don't get it, they do what your roses are doing now. They just sit and look at you. The roses are more like my black cat than me. He will lay in a sunny windowsill for hours on a day when it is in the nineties. It feels like you could fry and egg on his fur, but he seems to enjoy it. Non-human entities can have strange ideas about what is and is not comfortable.

If you've been having the kind of weather we've been having here in the Great Lakes, and you probably have because ours comes east from there, then it's not your fault! Roses like SUNSHINE and lots of it. It was a very long, cold, cloudy spring and roses don't grow or bloom quickly in those conditions. It has warmed up some now but we've still had less sunshine than normal. And watering is never as good as a nice soaking rain. Every year has different conditions and the roses grow and bloom differently accordingly. Besides that, the roses did take quite a beating over those two nasty winters and are trying their best to recuperate. Don't despair, they'll improve when/if the weather does.

Sorry to hear... I hope things improve for you!

Try not to feel to bad it is the weather not you. It's exactly the same here I've never seen my rose bushes so tiny in August. Not a good year for roses. Seil is right cloudy, cold , very wet spring. Even early summer the clouds remained locked here. Crazy hot for a couple of days then back to cold wet nights. We have just had almost three weeks of sun. The roses are finally growing. I'm not surprised that Wisconsin is rust heaven this year.

In my yard, I find it easy to over water the roses--even when the rest of the state is in need of water! Rose roots also need oxygen--so they need to by cycled between wet and dry.

Thank you all! I take a 'sigh of relief'. Glad it sounds like it isn't just me.

I am having similar season, too much rain and clouds. Today it's raining. Wildfire had a bloom that was miniature sized. Recently, I started foliar spraying with product similar to Peter's and I am seeing an improvement in stem and more blooms. Coincidence and/or time of year?

what is the foliar spray?

I put fertilizer (Peter's or Miracle Grow) in a hose-end sprayer and spray the leaves as a foliar spray.

This is the time to work on your soil. Add compost, manure and good mulch. Keep the roots in good shape. Roses always do better with rain than hose water. You should see what the drought is doing to my roses in CA. The year it rained and rained was my best year ever. But roses want sun and warmth too. If you have been using chemical fertilizers instead of natural ones then you might want to give your soil some TLC while the roses take a break.

Thank-you Kitty that is very good advice. Its nice we can still hear from you here from time to time to learn about the latest rose growing trends. Even though I can only dream of growing the roses you do.

I wish we could trade! It's been hot and unusually dry here. I feel like I live in Phoenix. I also have sparse and tiny blooms. Anything that does bloom fries immediately. Hopefully with the weather changing, things will get better. I'm gearing up for the fall flush.