I have 3 huge Scarlet Meidiland Roses(canes are about 8 ft. long) that are looking just pathetic. There is some black spot, but I am afraid that something else is going on as well. In the past these long canes had a beautiful cascade effect, but now they look awful. All of the flowers have fallen off. I sprayed with a combination fungicide and insecticide. I am tempted to cut back drastically and see if they will revive. If I cut back, how far should I go? Any help would be much appreciated. These roses are 10 years old, very disease resistant, and have been a highlight of our neighborhood.

Hi, Weezie. We have had intermittent periods of heavy rain, but none that were long lasting. The only thing I have ever done to these roses is to cut back the dead wood in the spring and fertilize with a rose fertilizer in early spring. They do have mulch under them. I started trying to cut off all of the diseased parts yesterday and noticed something else. On the underside of a lot of normal looking leaves were tiny red dots. The tops of these leaves were glossy green. Could this be red spider mites? I am going to take a picture and try to post it. Thanks for your help.