Thanks!!!

What exactly do the damaged leaves look like?

What exactly do the yellowing leaves look like, and are they evenly distributed on the plant?

The yellow leaves are at the bottom of the plant working their way upward. There are no leave cutting ants - just small ants. The new leaves are coming in small and irregular in shape with curled edges.

I have some photos at the URL listed.

Thanks :)

The ants are not a concern. They are probably milking aphids. I think I see some aphids in the new-foliage shot. If aphids previously encrusted the growth tip, they can cause some distortion of the ensuing foliage, but this is not a serious concern. You might want to wipe the aphids off when you see a heavy concentration.

I would not be too worried about the yellow and brown leaves either since they are at the bottom of the plant. Are those angular holes appearing in the green leaves above as well, or do you see white transluscent "windows"? If so look on the undersides for small green worms (rose slugs) and wipe them off. I don't know what killed the leaves, possibly something chewed through the central leaf stem to kill the tissue above it in that v-shape.

Maybe someone from New England will have a better idea.

I'll wipe the plants off and go from there!

As for the rugosa, have you sprayed anything on the foliage? Blanc double de coubert lost all its leaves once after I sprayed it with miracle gro ( it seemed like a good idea at the time :)

At my last home I did this every two days to my rose and the flowering almond as well as the peach tree. Ants brought them to the peach tree and then I looked good around on the other plants. I'd pop all I could then rubbed the leaf joint with q-tips of alcohol. I did that religiously for one season and followed up in early spring for any straglers. Never had them after that and the ants left too.