Starting early, before the spring flush has even gotten underway.

And one nice photo because it is a beautiful rose.

It is beautiful! I'm not sure why your rose is doing this.

Anyone? I really like this rose and would love to see it healthier.

I hesitate to comment because I’m by no means an expert. But in my garden, a specific area gets mites and the damage looks like that. Could they start this early? I get a webless mite.

Does your mite issue cause dieback? I'll take a closer look under the leaves a little later, thank you for your suggestion.

My mites usually hit some self seeders like gaillardia and 4 o’clocks. In the past they have died and come back the next year, but this year I’m spraying with Green Clean I think it’s called and hoping to be rid of them.

Green Cleaner alternating with Pure Crop 1. I also saw Tetrasan but it’s so expensive I am hesitant.

Found this on the web."Rose leaves turn yellow because the pH of the soil is too high, or there's not enough iron in the soil. It can also be caused by a lack of oxygen when the plants are overwatered or the soil doesn't drain easily. You may see the leaf veins turn yellow while the leaves are still green."

https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/flowers-and-plants/flowers/rose-leaves-turning-yellow

It looks like a little detective work may be needed to see which it is. Strawchicago is the person I've seen post the most on soil evaluation and fixing problems so may want to reach out to her for advice or read some of her back posts on it.

My TB is loved by stem girdlers, Magpie. I love my rugosas and wish I had a solution.

In my case here, they would kill an entire cane.

My Martin Frobisher does that yellow leaf thing your plant is doing too. I don't know why.

Sheila, it's so unfortunate. On the flip side, TB blooms more each year, even with this yellow leaf issue, and I just don't yet have the heart to remove it. I've become attached. It's my earliest bloomer and I do so look forward to it each year. As far as stem girdlers, they seem to prefer my John Cabot right next to TB, and I lose a few canes to them each year.

TB today:

Two ideas that come to mind:

• Not enough light for those leaves, as they are shaded by higher leaves? Does that area ever get full sun?
• Virus?

She is so lovely! Beautiful photo with delphiniums.

I have two thoughts which might or might mot apply. The first is drainage. If the soil is too wet that will cause yellow leaves and dieback, but usually I see more yellowing and leaf drop across a plant when that’s the case. Might be worth checking, though? Maybe the drainage issue is a minor one so the yellowing is minor? Second, soil pH, iron deficiency or other deficiencies can cause yellowing, too. But these would likely hit John Cabot, too, if he is nearby unless the genetics of TBugnet requires more or less of something. Like you and Sheila, some of my roses just seem to produce yellow and dieback like yours. Mine are usually ones planted in less than optimal positions. I always have a bit of it on my Blush Noisette.

I’ll PM you back shortly. My daughter’s school days have been cut by half, so my time has been cut by half, too.

It is in full sun, in a poor quality, dry soil. I do water, though, but still. Everything in the front yard is, unfortunately. I've been trying to gradually improve it for years with layers of compost and leaves and cut grass, etc. but it's slow going and only a few plants are tough enough to be rudely healthy anyway.

Only the most assertive, hardiest and most resilient live in my garden, too. There are plenty of gorgeous plants that are willing to thrive, so I only keep a handful of delicate strugglers around.

My first thought was also pH. Do you grow any pure rugosas for comparison?

No I don't, mad gallica. And between the yellow leaves, die back, and stem girdlers, I probably won't be adding any! Though they're often beautiful. I'll just have to enjoy them vicariously and stick nearby the classes that have proved themselves more able in my conditions.

I HATE cane girdlers!! 🤬

Well, at least I can take comfort in solidarity, I guess! It's in a terrible spot to have to deal with suckers so I really hope it doesn't try that here. I wish you luck in the oncoming Siege of the Suckers, Feiy. Luckily for TB she is so pretty.