Question
Our Gertrude Jekyll is 6 years old and has formed many, many buds that have
not opened, nor formed petals.  The buds remain slightly opened( about the
size of a dime) and are pale yellow with a red-brown ring around the top
edges.  Her foliage appears spotlessly healthy.  Different kinds of roses on
either side of GJ are in full bloom and have no problems that we can detect.  
Is this a late blooming rose?  Is she not getting enough water?  We're in
Albuquerque, NM zone 7  Can you help?  Angie

Answer
From your description, it sounds like you have rose midges. The adult midge lays its eggs inside the sepals of new flower and leaf buds. The tiny maggot that hatches feeds in these areas causing blackened tissue, tip abortion, and distorted flower buds. The flowers are completely destroyed. Any rose insecticide spray that is a systemic type will solve your problem. The reason for the systemic type is because this gets into the sap of the rose so when the very tiny midges bite into the rose they are poisoned. There really is no other way to get rid of them because they are so very tiny. Hope this helps.