With any newly planted rose there will be transplant shock.
The plant is adjusting to the new soil. One thing that you should have done was to remove all blooms and buds! I know this is a shock, but you have to grow roots first! Then you grow the leaves, and finally the blooms. Without the roots, you will have no plant! With any newly planted plant you need to cover the canes with mulch to protect them from drying out. Apply at least 1" of water a week. With our rains we got 41/2" of water! So don't worry.

ok it's my fault, I just went outside and recheck, most of the buds turning soft and sad are the ones left on the stem, there were 2 buds on each stem when I bought the rose, the nursery lady told me to remove the dead flower after bloom so I cut the after bloomed rose with my pruning shears, could that be the problem? I should have waited until the other one finish bloom then prune to the first set of 5 leaves? Sorry about my English guys, I am trying my best to discribe the problem, as you probably can tell by my name I am Asian.

Jing

Dan and MeltedNorth Pole sorry for hijacking this post, but I do have a question. I am a klutz and a very bad transplanter, have had only 2 successfully coordinated transplants this season (not tearing up any roots), but have always relied on my miracle sea tea cure-all... None of my plants have ever experienced this huge transplant shock even with buds on them... (one came with buds and one actually sprouted 5 buds the morning after a horrific transplant). Could potting soil be a factor in why my roses never experienced this severe of a shock (besides the miracle sea tea)? When I plant my roses they don't get the native soil but Fertilome potting mix soil with just a very, very light dusting of Rose tone mixed in... Could this be a factor? Meltednorthpole, did you plant your rose straight into the soil or did put it in a bed of potting soil type of mix... I am thinking your rose may be used to the super-rich potting soil of its container and may have had trouble with the native soil? What are your thoughts, Dan on potting soil advantages...

I plant my rose straight to the soil but I have a very different kind of soil, since my backyard is all clay so I am using local purchased soil,(a mixture of top soil, sand and compose.) I dug a hole about 2x3 ft and fill it with good soil to about 2/3 to the top then I add a bit peat moss, some aged manure, and a cup of bone meal, I mixed everything in with the soil so when my plant my rose, the roots are on top of these stuff. (I do use my fingers to break the roots a bit though, kind of like massage into the roots) So far everything I planted never had any shock, except of this one, but again, maybe because I prune the after bloom flower on the same stem. I might be wrong but I think you should keep whatever soil that comes with the rose and plant them together, that way the plant have time to getting used to the new soil.

Jing

Are you using any of the original soil you dug out of the hole at all? You might be have created a bathtub effect. All that water may just be sitting in the hole you dug. Clay soil is not all bad, and I would recommend mixing the existing soil with your topsoil, manure, and bone meal.

Eric

yes I do use a little bit of the clay, not much though. So far some of the flower buds came back and start blooming. in the future I will mix it with a bit more clay.

yes I do use a little bit of the clay, not much though. So far some of the flower buds came back and start blooming. in the future I will mix it with a bit more clay.

well, your mix sounds good. The only thing that I'm worried about is the part about "massaging" the roots with your fingers... Leave the roots and the soil it came with intact /undisturbed... Karl the expert rosarian told me months ago, to try not to disturb the roots and showed me a good way to do this (but no thanks to my klutziness I am only sometimes successful). Karl told me that anchor roots come with hundreds and hundreds of invisible feeder roots, and if you're massaging the bare roots with your hands you could cause distress to the plant....

good point,actually I only do that a little bit, most of the time I just try to spread out the roots so it will sit on top of the soil; thanks for the tip I shall be more careful next time.

Abraham Darby will be a large rose bush, a shrub at maturity. Any rose that will grow to a substantial size may take one year to establish it's roots and thrive and throw lots of blooms. As long as the stems and foliage are healthy do not fret too much about the rose, feed and water and it will thrive. Good luck, Susz

Jing,I think this is just transplant shock and perhaps not enough water. You've planted it in a good mix. I always spread my roots, so I wouldn't worry about that and your pruning has nothing to do with it. The reason the buds are drooping is because the rose is now diverting its energy into establishing new roots. Building buds takes a lot of energy. This is why it is best to plant early spring and in fall--before and after the plant starts working on blooms. But don't worry. Just water and it will be fine. Don't fertilize it for a few months (too much too soon). Roses are actually very tough plants.

Were I planting in clay, unless it was on a slope with good drainage, I'd plant in a raised bed. It doesn't have to be a formal raised area. A hill of soil mixed slightly with the top few inches of the native soil to about 8-12 inches higher will suffice. If the soil washes away slightly over time the roots will work their way into the native soil. Meanwhile you can rake washed away soil back onto the area to keep it raised.
You will have to provide winter protection if, as your name might indicate, you live in a cold winter area.

It does help to plant roses early in the season too! Get good health bareroots in March and plant them then. With no leaves on the plants the roots can start getting used to their new home. Potted roses that were in full leaf and bloom, I've always had problems with them. Because the plant was growing in the pot, it doesn't think of putting more roots on. But after we try and plant it, and the root ball falls apart, no wonder we have transplant shock!

Thanks for all the info! I am glad to learn all these info, oh I do love this rose but it's grafted so i don't expect too much from it. I am still learning.