icius wrote:
Ok, thanks for the replies! Let's see, there were a few questions in
there. I am in Pittsburgh, PA. I thought I saw someone in
Philadelphia say they were in Zone 6?? Not sure what the climate zones
mean or if Pittsburgh is the same. Temperatures have been in the 80s
since I planted and this plant is getting sun all day long. No rain
since planting.

Pittsburgh is in zone 5b, I'd say. That means it's colder in the winter
than Philadelphia, which is in zone 6b. The USDA Hardiness Zone system
(see: http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/index.html) really only deals
with the harshness of the winters. The idea is that a plant that can
take (for instance) minimum winter temperatures down to between -10 to
-20 degrees F (that's -23.4 and -28.8 degrees C) are said to be hardy to
zone 5. Each hardiness zone covers a 10 degree F range so here, where
the minimum temperature doesn't go below 0 F (-17.7 C) is zone 7. The
"a" and "b" divide each zone in half.

One real problem with the hardiness zone system is that the heat of the
summer plays a bit role in how well many plants do and the zones don't
take that into account. But, for the most part, it is a useful measure
of how far north a plant will grow. Dr. Marc Cathey, the former
director of the National Arboretum and now President Emeritus of the
American Horticultural Society (http://www.ahs.org/) has come up with
something called Heat Zones which deal with that aspect of plant
hardiness. (See: http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm)

The soil around the hole was absolute solid clay. It was a real bear
to dig. I didn't read about proper drainage until after the planting
so I may have erred there. It is mostly the best soil from the top of
the dig on the bottom now with the Miracle-Gro mix on top to fill the
rest of the hole. Should I try to do anything about it now?

Of course, I cannot see what you have but when you water, are you just
putting down a gallon or two or are you letting it soak for a good long
time? When you water, particularly with a newly planted shrub, you want
to give it a good soaking so that water reaches the bottom of the hole
and beyond. Put the hose on it at a trickle and let it go for a half
hour or more. Then don't water it again until it starts to look dry.
Curling leaves are more likely from stress related from too little water
than too much (which might cause the to drop but not brown and curl).
So, don't water so often but water thoroughly.

As far as the plant goes, it looks worse today. The leaves near the
blooms are starting to turn brown and curl, the flowers themselves
continue to wilt. Just looking at it I would say it is dying of
thirst, but I watered the heck out of it last night so it isn't for
lack of water. I hope the Miracle-Gro didn't burn out the roots.

Or maybe not. You are the one there so you'll have to decide.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out. If it does happen to die,
please don't give up on roses. They really aren't as hard to grow as it
sounds and they are well worth the small amount of effort they do take.

--
Henry