How's the drainage in your soil? Roses no longer die in my zone 5 after I check for drainage: dig down to 2 feet, then pour a 3 gallon bucket of water, if it doesn't drain fast enough, then roses will either blackspot or die through the winter with freezing rain.

The best thing I did was to buy a 5 feet long trench digger at Menards to dig out the rocks below 2 feet for fast drainage.

Quadra has dark green leaves (prefers alkaline soil pH). Princess Charlene de Monaco (own root) likes alkaline pH .. I constant have to top it with biochar at pH 8.6.

It's good to test the pH of your soil. All major nutrients are less available at low pH.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2132487/cheapest-way-to-test-soil-ph-using-red-cabbage#n=30

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2134007/red-cabbage-ph-test-of-blood-meal-corn-meal-compost-etc#n=26

Below is the 5 feet trench digger for $35 sold at Menards, I wish I had bought it before, it could have saved lots of money with roses dying in poor drainage clay due to rocks below:

Below is nutrient deficiency chart with low pH:

Below is map of pH of rain across USA. Note that rain is acidic in the midwest at pH 4.5, versus pH of rain is 5.6 in the west coast:

Kelly, this does look serious. If you are zone 4, I would try to pot a rose and size it up before planting if it is at all small. Now, I wish you could lift and pot the weak ones and have them overwinter in a greenhouse or garage until they are stronger.

My Minnesota and Alaska gardening experience included plants growing backward because they were not up to the harsh conditions. Quadra should be up to it if it got a boost in a pot.

Quadra has dark green leaves (prefers alkaline soil pH). Princess Charlene de Monaco (own root) likes alkaline pH .. I constant have to top it with biochar at pH 8.6.

It's good to test the pH of your soil. All major nutrients are less available at low pH.

I would urge you to do your own research before you accept this statement at face value. According to rose authorities, ALL roses prefer a slightly acidic soil pH......somewhere between 6.0 and 7.0. It is also a well-established horticultural fact that a slightly acidic soil condition is the "sweet spot" for nutrient availability.

I should test the soil ph but am worried my soil is too dry. When we moved to our new house, I didn’t have anywhere to plant the little roses I brought with me so I stuck them around the top of the culvert around the front of my house. Morning sun, afternoon dappled shade so I thought it was a decent spot. The ones that came back were really struggling in spring so I moved most of them and they are doing soo much better. I guess I should probably try to move Quadra too but it is a lot older plant- not sure if you can see from the pic all the dead wood… I’m still cutting down trees because we have soo much shade here! Thanks for the advice!

And I do have a trench digger! Didn’t know that’s what you call it! I just call it my skinny shovel! Works well to get up those Roos and rocks!

Roots

Kelly Tregaskis Collova Trees steal alkaline minerals from soil, esp. calcium. I had a dozen trees chopped down for the past 5 years. These trees' trunks were hard like cement blocks. The tree company used a large tractor to carry off these trunks.

After the trees were chopped down, we went through at least 50 bags of pelletized lime to fertilize my lawn and to break down the hardened clay where tree roots once were.

We get an invasion of stringy weeds (bind weeds) where the soil is depleted of calcium.

There's an area nearby tree roots with lots of YUCK mushroom grew, I have to sprinkled pelletized lime to get rid of the mushroom.

If an area has green moss and mushroom instead of grass, that area is very acidic and wet from poor drainage clay. In my rooting box through the winter, every single rootings rot & turned black if there's green moss growing in the rooting medium.

After that I store soil pouches to root roses in a damp box, if there's green moss growing, then I UP the pH by mixing in lime.

I think you’re on to something. Too many tree roots taking up water and nutrients! Where I moved the other ones that are doing soo much better, there are not trees all over! I Wonder if I dig it up if I have a pot that would be big enough or maybe I can cut off the dead part

I think they are just desperately trying to survive, but dying back through lack of water and perhaps food, Kelly. The soil does look dry and has perhaps shrank back, exposing the crowns? The leaves present don’t show any specific nutrient deficiency to me, so I wouldn’t try and ’correct’ a problem that may not be there because that would just stress them even further.

Rather, try and cut as much of that dead wood back as close to soil level as possible, give each several cans of water, poured slowly to make sure it penetrates deeply, then mulch heavily with some decent compost. Don’t feed, just continue to keep them well watered. Protect over winter if that is usually required in your climate and then you have given them the best chance of bouncing back next Spring. A scattering of alfalfa pellets early next season will also encourage new cane growth. Then, if and when you see recovery, would be the time to reassess.

The above assumes you want to keep them in the ground in their current locations, but if you do decide to move them, then I would follow Sheila’s advice to pot them up and baby them in a sheltered location over winter.

Good advice. Do what Nollie advises.

Moses.

I noticed at our local hospital the KO's and other plants planted near tree roots are growing poorly... Good Luck Kelly hope you figure things out!