Your blossoms faded ... because that's what they do. Blooms lasting two weeks is really pretty good. However, the nursery advised you correctly that you needed to move your plants so that they get more sun. The one thing that I found will kill a Knockout (though not in a few weeks) ... is lack of sun. When you transplanted them, you should have held off on the fertilizer. That's kind of like force-feeding someone when they already have stomach distress. But they should make it through, as long as you give them planty of water. Water will dilute the fertilizer, to some extent, and allow your plants to reestablish in their new locations. Also, because they're a little root-compromised right now, you may want to shield them from the sun during the hottest part of the day. Eventually, they'll be able to take it, ... but, probably, not now. BTW ... the Knockout is a real rose. They are spectacularly successful in the landscape, and provide color throughout the growing seasons. At some point, you might want to try a different, more traditional type of rose, but, in general, ... they not as easy. Enjoy your Knockouts. I certainly enjoy mine, and am thnking of getting a couple more, ... even though I have "real" roses, as well.

Hard to believe it won't come back. Keep it mulched, watered, exposed to the sun etc.

I made an error in my original message. My apologies. Someone else in my household is in charge of the watering, hence my error. The roses are on their own irrigation system and are only watered once a week unless you count the unintentional watering that the neighbor gives them. Thank you JAYK for your advice. You said just what I was afraid of--that it wasn't necessary for me to pull the leaves off the plant. I just spent over an hour reading some of the rose forum thread on chemicals to use on black spot and am still (more?) confused. Do you or anyone else have any advice for the rose bush that I pruned almost all the leaves off of (only about 6 leaves left on it now)? Do I use the neem oil my local nursery suggested (and have already purchased)or do I heed some research I did that shows neem oil can interfere with photosynthesis and wait for more leaves to grow before using neem? Or use something else entirely? A relative says he remembers using something many years ago that went in with the fertilizer in granular form and so didn't need to be sprayed and thus limited the safety precautions which I would certainly appreciate if it works. I didn't see anything about this product in the thread on black spot that I read; maybe it was there and I missed it but most of the discussion seemed to focus on commercial sprays. I'll do so more reading tomorrow and see if I can find a reference to it. I'd very much like to save the bush; it was well-established, planted about 15 years ago. I'd rather not be the one to kill it. Thanks.

Might I gently suggest, Ickle Cat, that you be patient and wait for that outdoor garden next spring and plant roses then? Keeping a potted rose happy inside a warm apartment is very difficult, indeed. Starting out with a boxed, dormant rose (especially one of those unnamed chopped & waxed poor things) is even less likely to reach success. There is a good reason that roses are not usually house plants. You certainly can keep the potting soil moist and let things go for a some more weeks to be sure, but it sounds like your rose pushed all the energy it had stored in its canes into some growth and then you cut it off. That kind of "pruning" does not, I'm afraid, "make them grow." It may be putting out new roots and it may send out more new leaves - you can mist the canes to help keep them moist (if planted outdoors, one would mound them to keep them from drying out.) Don't keep the pot in standing water in a saucer; you don't want to rot the roots - but keep the whole thing nicely damp. Be sure to allow it the maximum sunshine you can manage and then be patient. No fertilizer, please, at this time. Either it will grow or it won't and all you can do is wait and see. The real trouble comes in if it does succeed in surviving and pushing out new growth - then it will be your task to keep it free of spider mites and other troubles that plaque roses in the dry, warm indoor environment...and you're realistically looking to do this for a year? Well, not impossible, but highly improbable, IMHO. I've overwintered potted healthy roses indoors just for fun - and believe me, it is a lot of work to keep them healthy. Did it for a few years and was glad to put the practice behind me! ;-) Perhaps you could spend this year researching and learning more about roses, what they need and how they grow. There are lots and lots of good books on the subject and not to mention lots of information on the Web. Visit nurseries and gardens and ask questions. You'll be far more prepared next year to make good choices of roses for your new garden and to keep those choices happy and growing. Sincere good luck to you!