Sometimes older canes just don't have vigor left from the winter or other weather issues. They can look green for a while then blacken as yours have done. What you need to do is cut off the brown/black parts (down to the base of the cane in front of the bottom picture) or down to where cane is green around the base. Remember that not every brown is bad - bark can be brown but not this blackish brown.

I still see hope for the rose as the back cane in the last picture looks like it has green at the base. Hold off on the fertilizer, just water and watch. If more canes blacken, keep ahead of it in pruning and sanitize your pruners.

A lot of my roses do this after the winter and they can recover fine if you keep ahead of the canker.

Cynthia

The same thing happened to several of my roses last year. Two of them have recovered well after I did a hard, regenerative pruning on them. The other one is still struggling, but I’m giving it time: I moved it at a bad time and I didn’t think it would recover if I pruned it back hard, so I’m letting it struggle for a while. Eventually, I’ll give it a regenerative pruning treatment as well; if it springs back healthy, great. If not, I’ll replace it.

Vaporvac, finally! Someone mentioned water. These plants look very dry to me. Water abundantly. Diane

Thanks to everyone for these suggestions

Will do them all

Leafnose,

Is that bush struggling with competition from neighboring plants? Is that a tree trunk right behind that rose bush? How about those sunflowers(?) to the left? Your rose may be suffering from lack of elbow room, and too much competition for water and nutrients. That soil looks awfully dry, and I can't see mulch. Maybe the root of the problem needs correction first.

Moses.

Yes, Vapor, water is certainly key here in my climate! Copious amounts of it. My rose that took some time to adjust was next to a stone wall and I did give it lots of water, but I think it would have benefited from even more. It’s almost impossible to overwater here.

Judi,

It's impossible to over water here, too, in Pittsburgh, zone 6a.

Average annual rainfall (pretty well dispersed evenly all year long):

Pittsburgh - 38.3 inches. This is on the low side because of strange Pittsburgh topography that diverts rain clouds, directing them north and south of me, frequently only lasily passing by my garden! 😕

Philadelphia - 50 inches (305 miles east of Pittsburgh)

Erie - 46.5 inches (127 miles north "_____")

Harrisburg - 47 inches (204 miles east "_____")

Cleveland, OH- 42.5 inches (135 miles north/north west "_____")

Columbus, OH - 42 inches (185 miles west of Pittsburgh)

Most nearby major cities get noticeably more natural rainfall available to their rose gardens than Pittsburghers get. That's about 3/4 inch of rainfall a week, here. Water, water, water I must. I have the water bills to prove it. When I had my potted fig collection in my car pad (put the car pad to work since I hadn't driven since 2012), a record monthly water bill of $138.00, about five years ago (2021), may be surpassed this summer.

Moses.

Speaking of rain, it’s pouring here right now, our first real rain of the season! It’s wonderful. We get an average of 14” a year here, Moses. The amount you get sounds incredible to me!

We get 10 inches of precip a year here in the semi-arid desert. Downside, you need to irrigate with an expensive watering system, and the water's not cheap, either. Upside, no diseases ever, few insect pests, and the roses love the sun. We haven't had any precip since late May, and who knows when the next shower will arrive. Judi, if you have a monsoon time, you're better off the we are. Diane

Yes, Diane, our monsoon seasons are the best thing about this area. It’s the highlight of the year for all of us. It’s especially exciting when they start earlier than normal as it appears to be doing this year. Forecast says we are heading for a good wet season and God knows how much we need it! Although you get less rain per year than we do, I’m guessing we have many more days above 90 degrees here than you do, so it probably comes out pretty even.

I'm a combo of happy (rain!) and a little nervous (flooding) about the predicted "Super El Nino" for this year :-D

Judi, we've already had quite a few days of 90F. starting in May. Our predictions this week edged downward in temperature, so it was much nicer than I thought it would be, but windy everyday, which ruined it for picture taking and some other chores. Diane

@Moses, Pitt PA, cold W & hot-humid S, z6

Yeah the Rose was already there when I bought the house. There was another one that had reverted to root stock near it under the decorative Bradford Pear. The Sunflowers were completely brought by the birds, and bring in insects, so I let them go. I guess I could be aggressive and transplant it if it continues to struggle.

Starting with deep water, and hard prune.