Water them asap, a lot of water, I don't think you gave them enough water.

I was actually afraid of overwatering them since over the course of 7-8 hours of heat (85 degrees), I was surprised that the dirt still looked moist. When I dug up the soil around the trees yesterday to put some fertilizer in there, the soil was a bit moist as well.

I think the soil is dry underneath. You can check with your fingers. I soak my rose trees with a lot of water when the temp goes above 80. I have 48 rose trees in total, some in pots, some in the garden. Good luck! :-)

I just gave them more water, I dug about 12-18 inches down to see if the water is reaching the lower end of the roots and the soil is still a little moist, so I'm assuming that's good enough without drowning them?

Do you have some mulch around them as well? Not sure where you live, wondering if they were in a partially shaded location at the nursery and now are not grooving on full sun. Transplanting them is a stress, and as Seil said the fertilizer may have been overwhelming. For new transplants, even though the soil feels wet, they may not be able to take up the moisture properly and wilt. Go ahead and water! You almost can't overwater them. Good luck, they look like really nice trees. What kind are they?

I haven't put mulch down, though I do have 7 bags in my garage ready to do so after I get the retaining wall blocks around this garden area perfect. They were wilting the morning after I planted them, so the person at the nursery suggested fertilizer, which I guess wasn't the right thing to do O_O I'll keep watering them, though I did read that if you have clay soil, it retains water more and in turn could cause water to build up, I'm wondering if I should proceed with caution on this since I do have clay in the soil. The yellow one is listed as "Sparkle & Shine Floribunda" and the other is "Double Delight Hybrid Tea." I have a 3rd that seems to be in better condition than the other 2 that I didn't post a picture of, but it's listed as "Anna's Promise Grandiflora Rose."

WATER! The problem is not that the soil is not moist - the problem is that their roots are damaged from being planted, and need MORE WATER on a temporary basis until they can re-grow.

I would also cut off some of the top growth which is dying - that means that the plant cannot support it at the moment. I would cut the flowering canes back to maybe 12" long. Is there any way you can erect some temporary shade cloth over them? They need a break from the sun now, for a little while only.

Jackie

I forgot to add - please stop digging around the roots, and DO NOT add any fertilizer until they have recovered and are putting out new growth.

Jackie

Just because the dirt is moist doesn't mean the rose has enough water! Looking at the soil near the yellow rose, it definitely looks dry. Water given to the rose alone will be wicked away into the dry soil nearby, leaving the rose very thirsty. As Seil said, roses are watered well beforehand & several times as you're planting, to saturate the soil & settle the soil firmly around the roots without any gaps. Did the "organic soil" you added contain peat moss? Peat moss is notoriously difficult to get to hold water if it starts out dry. Even with clay soil, unless it's rained relentlessly during the heat, those wilting leaves & flowers are telling you the plant needs water - lots of water. Soil a "little moist" just won't do the job. What you have with the second rose (Double Delight) is transplant shock, caused by the stress of not watering during planting steps, heat & underwatering. Rig up a shade cloth, like a pale sheet attached to the fence behind & poles (rakes, shovels, what-have-you) in front to clear the top of the rose - a make-shift ten to keep the sun off. (I keep one of those pop-up tents on hand for planting during heat.) A hose laying out in the sun can heat the water within to near boiling. Let that water out into a watering can or onto pavement until it runs cool before watering the plants. Use a watering attachment - trigger or wand - on the end of your hose that allows you to select what type of water pattern & has a shut-off valve so you can control the rate of water flow. Water the plants gently - usually a "shower" setting, with the shut-off valve half open so it's a gentle flow. Likely take 5 minutes at that setting to water an area two feet around the trunk on all sides, directing the water in lines or circles again & again. Do the same to the next rose & the third, and then go back to the first & repeat down the line a second time. Use the "mist" setting on your watering wand, still at half open at the valve so it's gentle, to thoroughly mist the branches & leaves. The leaves lose water through transpiration, similar to how we sweat, & like us more so in heat, and when the roots can't supply enough, they wilt. This is especially a problem with tree roses, which have a long trunk & multiple grafts to move water through, and they will typically need more water routinely than low-growing roses. It will take twice as much water now to rehydrate those limp leaves as it would have to keep them from wilting in the first place. Think of it like a baby overheated at the beach - get them in the shade, cool them down with mist & keep them drinking to replace lost fluids. It would be really hard to drown the roses at this point - a thunderstorm is the equivalent of the amount of water they need immediately to snap out of it! I've gardened in clay soil for many years. It can hold a lot of moisture once it is thoroughly & completely wetted deep down 2-3 feet. But if it dries out completely, it can crack at the surface & actually repel water at first, as will peat moss if dried out, and it takes a lot of water to wet it deeply. The Summer we had daily storms pass through, the roses bloomed as never before. Believe your caution is unfounded.

Thanks for all the advice, I'm taking it all to heart and implementing them as we speak. Think it would be okay to lay some landscaping fabric/weed barrier sheets on top of the tree to block off some of the sun? I didn't think it took 5 minutes of watering to cover 1 tree to get them properly hydrated, I will definitely up the amount of water! Lastly, when times of the day should I water them and spray the leaves with the mist setting on the hose? I heard between noon-2pm should be avoided since the water on the leaves kind of acts like a magnifying glass for the sun, but I'm not sure how credible that is. Thanks so much again everyone for the advice, really helps total newbies like me!

Quit holding back on the water. A month from now when (hopefully) the roots have settled in andare beginning to function properly, then we can talk about what on-going watering practices you should engage in. Right now, we are talking about new planted trees that aren't doing very well yet and won't do well if you don't get in there and add more water. In fact, given your reluctance to water deeply and thoroughly, I'm almost tempted to tell you to go ahead and "drown" them --let the water recede, and then come back and "drown" them again--let the water recede, and maybe even "drown" them a third time.

Once they get thoroughly and deeply watered, then we can talk about other options--but please--go "drown" them right now.

Kate

Personally, I would skip the landscape fabric. It's a nightmare, you don't want to go there! Ask me how I know.....just use some shredded bark mulch a couple inches deep in a circle around them, keep it away from the trunk. Wet it down real well when you spread it and water the beJesus out of them and you should be fine - no matter what time of day you are good :)

It is time to go back to the beginning. The very first thing that anyone should have said is:

Where are you?
Where are you?
Where are you, where are you, whererere are you?

You may add the Halleluia Chorus as a melody if you wish.

Without that information, everybody is guessing. People are guessing about the problem, and you are guessing whether or not they are right. Without having some idea of soil type, weather patterns, sun intensity related to the amount of atmospheric humidity, common digging animals, etc. nobody is going to be able to reassure you that their path is the correct one.

Do not know where you are located, but in hot summer, dry climates, we water early in the morning. My plants are watered at 5 a.m.. When I hose off my roses ( leaves are the target) , this is done early in the morning too.. But not at 5 a.m.

Lynn

Ah I completely blanked on my location, I'm in Seattle, WA. The hottest days of the week are behind me now and the daily high will be in mid-high 70's until next Wednesday when it drops to a high of 67 with chance of rain.

Anyone happen to know what these bugs are on my plants?

Looks like Aphids. A good spray from the hose is how I deal with them.

Lynn

Aphids. Squish or hose (or squish then hose). I noticed that the pacific northwest has had particularly hot weather this summer. Hope your new roses are holding up.