Ann mentioned root stock in another post and this could be the problem here. I don't know your soil ph but here I have acidic soil. In the beginning before ordering only own root I lost a lot of roses because they were grafted on Dr. Huey rootstock. The only roses that survived did so because they had put down their own roots. When digging up the plants that did not do well Dr. Huey had not grown at all. May this well help.

I'm confused. This was an actual rose plant, not a bare root stock that I planted. I've never had this problem (if indeed it is even a problem) before. It appeared green, lots of flowers, no disease during the growing season last season. It is too soon to tell because it only has a little green I notice so far, but that is the same with the other 12 plants at this point in the season. Since this bush is still a young bush (only planted last June), I'm hoping it is still in the process of establishing its roots. I know I planted it deep enough.

You might try firming down the soil using your feet to anchor the rose more. It should not be rocking at all.

This was a very "squat" bush when I purchased it. What I should have done was cut some of the very lower branches off because they were so close to the root union. The root union was larger, but again--I could not cover the very top of the root union because the healthy branches were coming out from that area. Actually, I could not have cut any of the branches that were starting from basically right by the root union. So I don't know if that was the problem from the beginning. Maybe I should have looked for a Love Song where the branches started higher up--not right by the root union. I was told that it was such a young plant, and give it time to get the roots established. Yet, now in April, gently tugging on a branch from each side, I can get the bush to rock. Maybe the roots are not growing fast enough to anchor it. I really don't want to rip it out of the ground because of the way the bush is shaped, I wouldn't be able to bury it any different. If I would have tried burying it deeper, I would have been burying a number of branches. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

As Ingrid said, tamp it down firmly with your foot all the way around the plant. It should not be rocking. That's a sign that the soil is loose or there are air pockets and that's bad. After tamping it down water it in and then put more soil on the top and tamp again. Don't worry about putting some soil up the canes. They'll be fine. When I bury my grafts I bury the first couple of inches of canes all the time. You have to in order to get the graft down low enough to protect it. They survive. Stake it so the wind can not rock it until it grows more roots and firms up in the soil.

By staking, do you just put bamboo stakes & tie to branches with garden ties? It seems a little firmer today, so hopefully I was imagining it. Doesn't seem as "rocky". Thanks.