My rose bushes are not doing well

I cut my rose bushes back early this spring. They looked like they were making a comeback. But now the leaves look dried up, the roses are faded and these knockout roses do not seem to be producing any more buds. I noticed these same symptoms last summer. I pruned them back mid summer, but nothing came back. Do I toss these? Dare I replant in the same area? Anyway to prevent the same thing happening?

Did you do a hard prune or just a slight prune, what month?

Did the dryness occur during the drought we had?

Roses in general are heavy feeders: need regular watering and feeding (fertilizer). It's never too late to put organic compost on the roots. Be patient and have faith

I pruned them about half way down. I watered them every day that wasn't raining. I fertilized them after I pruned them. I think that was in early May. They made a splendid recovery, but are now looking quite sad. No roses.

Some varieties don't repeat.

These are knockout roses. That's what they are suppose to do. I got them because they are hearty.

So they actually look dead? No new leaves or growth at all this season? or just no flowers? If they are alive but have not bloomed at all this season, I'd worry about rosette. Do the leaves look twisted, dark and sort of scary?

After reading this thread earlier, I went out to inspect my knockouts! They were gorgeous a couple of weeks ago, bursting with blooms. I clipped all the spent flowers and noted new leaves popping up and in general, bushes look healthy, but taking a rest before setting new buds -- I hope!

What I dread is the inevitable arrival of the leaf eaters! Here are the bushes earlier this month

The season seemed to start well. Lots of roses. But I did notice leaves drying up. Stems have black spots. Now the roses have all died and I see no or very few buds.

Be extra careful deadheading Knockouts. It's really not necessary and it is easy to cut off the next bloom area.

Best Regards,

Ron Carter

mtierney, Is this what you mean by leaf eaters, because mine have already arrived! Couldn't post picture.

I have not pruned them after the original pruning early this spring.

Do they get good sun? Knockouts are celebrated for being able to handle some shade, but I'd expect considerable shade to reduce remontancy. (They can probably produce the first flush because they're making the buds before the trees leaf out.) Just a theory!