My roses demonstrated the drought dormancy theory the summer of 2011 when we had no rain from February until November. There are many that are out of reach of any watering and they hunkered down and survived. I do have a fairly thick layer of assorted mulch and previously had soaker hoses under it to irrigate the recent plantings; however the gophers were thirsty too, and the hoses leak all too well now. My roses have learned to be self-sufficient.
The "rule of four" is new to me - interesting!
