Tkhan: Hi! You haven't given us much to go on? No pictures, no pot sizes, whether left out over Winter or brought in, any size of disease: rose slug, blackspot, powdery mildew, etc? Also, is this a new bush rose received this year? Following is a posting from the great HelpMeFind rose site on pruning "Falstaff": Spring Pruning: Remove old canes and dead or diseased wood and cut back canes that cross. In warmer climates, cut back the remaining canes by about one-third. In colder areas, you'll probably find you'll have to prune a little more than that." Did you prune off new bud eyes? With respect to "Winchester", pretty near the same as most David Austin roses, they are beautiful but tender, unless in English Country gardens and South in the US including California. Real struggle anywhere else, and they certainly are not hardy despite claims in any Zone 5, Canada or the US. With respect to the potting soil for roses, one can go really crazy on selections for same, and in my experience, it really doesn't matter that much. There is an old adage, something like 'the worse the soil the more Nobel the rose." One could theoretically grow a rose in any medium, as long as it was fed with nutrients, and watered, and the substrate was not so dense as to prevent the rose from sending out rootlets! Give us some more info, particularly on overwintering or if these were new purchases? Cheers!
