Roses are finicky flowers. They need special fertilizer and protection from bugs and to be watered at specific times. I think you can google what needs to be done based on type of rose.

You are in Texas. That is what is wrong. Roses need cool damp weather as England, Oregon, Newport Rhode Island.

@Mooolah - That could be a big part of it. I did some reading after the initial failure and did find several varieties that are supposed to be adapted for North Texas. Neither of the first varieties were on the list. I did find and bought one from the list but frankly, I'm now gun shy about planting it. (Sigh) Guess I just need to bite the bullet and get it set up.

@RussRAB, @Mooolah It is more the part of Texas he is in. East Texas supplies a large portion of the root stock for patented roses nationwide. The Texas native rose is a very hardy bush that will grow into thickets 20 feet across. Soil needs to be acidic and well drained.

Soil preparation in the DFW area should include as a minimum, 12-18 inches of pinebark/peatmoss mix soil. At least 10-12 inches of the soil should be above the grade of the yard. Roses around here are a lot of work.

There are quite a few which are more tolerant of adverse conditions. Find those. Fertilizer is your friend. When you water, don't spray the plant, put the hose on the ground and water the base. This helps keep the leaves dry. Also, don't water late in the evening.

@RussRAB Sorry you got disappointing results. I don't disagree with Glennlab, but it isn't all bad. Site prep and rose selection are key. It takes a lot of reading to get a sense of recommended varieties.
I am obviously in south Louisiana. Grew up in rose country...the Pacific Northwest. Growing roses in the Deep South seemed very hard until I realized the key is picking varieties that are suited to your climate and conditions and paying attention to sun and soil...especially drainage. The easiest way to assure drainage is to raise your rose bed. Even as little as six inches can make a big difference.
I have abysmal drainage in my solid clay yard, but my roses are happy(48 bushes), because they were planted above the clay, not down in it. Oh, and I don't spray ANY chemicals. I stopped all that three years ago. It does not have to be difficult, once you understand those basic needs.

BTW, I am dying to hear what varieties you bought. This pic is Belinda's Dream next to Double Knockout. The site decided today my pic needs to be upside down.

@MikeInBatonRouge - I had wanted to grow a Peace rose and started looking over the bare root varieties offered. I didn't find that one but found a Chicago Peace with some good growth on it. That may not be the best as it turns out for bare root planting. Anyway, I bought the Chicago Peace just before we had the big freeze which meant I delayed planting it until temperatures rose again. Then I looked up your comment from when you posted photos of your roses and realized I had messed up the first step for success with roses - choosing varieties suited for my area. But the purchase was made. I had already decided to plant in containers and I found some rather large pots. These are at least 16 onches deep and at least that across. I bought composted peat to mix with potting soil, some composted mix, and a little sand to help keep the water running through it. Except for the sand, I mixed equal parts of the others and the sand was about half or less than the portion from the others. At the same time I was buying all these fixings, I ran across a Peace rose. I knew I should check its adaptability to this area, but I convinced myself that they wouldn't offer it if it wouldn't grow here (I should know better). Anyway, neither of these has done anything but wither. Green stems turned dark brown and nothing has grown. The Chicago Peace still has a patch of green on a grafted stem, but I doubt it will survive. This patch isn't near a node which is usually where the buds start. I believe they are not drowning because water runs out the botton holes in the pots, and I did drill a couple extras just to be safe.

I did look on the internet for which varieties I should be looking for. Mr. Lincoln is a beautiful red variety that is supposed to be suited for this area. I found one that looks like it is in good shape, but I haven't planted it yet - gun shy.

@RussRAB I cannot blame you for your choices. I have grown all of those, years ago. Your conditions are not quite as humid as mine, so Mr. Lincoln may do very well indeed. Even for me, it will grow great here, only blackspots modestly, even without spraying, smells FANTASTIC, and is one of the finest red hybrid teas ever. I only don't grow it now, because it tends to grow straight up eight feet, and the blooms can turn dark purple-red here and blow quickly in our humid heat. Hopefully less likely for you, but even if so should make a very fine cutting rose for you. It will powdery mildew a bit, but that is barely an issue here.

I currently grow three direct relatives of Mr Lincoln, don't spray any for diseases or insects, and all are doing well. They are granddaddy Crimson Glory(climbing sport), parent Chrysler Imperial, and sibling Oklahoma. All have similar wonderful fragrance. As a long stemmed cutting rose, none is finer than Mr. Lincoln!

@RussRAB Peace is the most famous rose in the world. I even have a book all about the story of its development and release at the start of WWII and world introduction at the innaugural UN meeting in 1946. It is THE rose that most excited me as a baby rosarian when I was a kid back in Washington State. The blooms are still wonderful. Too bad the plant is too fussy in our growing conditions. Ditto for its sport, Chicago Peace.

@RussRAB I grew roses in pots for decades. Very do-able. Your 16" pots should be fine for a couple years, but potted roses benefit from repotting every three years or so, and if your Mr Lincoln does well for you, it will certainly want more space by then. Be sure to water every single day in pots during summer heat! Do NOT put trays under rose pots. Drainage is vital. In ground, once they establish(first couple of years), they are much less fussy. (Apologies if you know all this already.) My fingers are crossed for you!

@RussRAB My Chrysler Imperial, this one still a baby. My camera makes this color slightly too raspberry.

@RussRAB

@RussRAB See? Potted roses CAN do well. This Firefighteris my only red hybrid tea currently in a pot. Most of my roses now are highly resistant to blackspot. Several quite new varieties are fantastically so. My main rose bed is admitedly a bit overcrowded, and this rose was blackspotting horribly there. So I banished it to a pot. Wouldn't you know, it has thrived since then. Still tends to lose its lower leaves to blackspot(again, I never spray) but keeps cranking out blooms like these. Smells great, too, though can't rival Mr. Lincoln.

@RussRAB Firefighter, in an 18" pot.

@MikeInBatonRouge - I appreciate the encouragement. I am curious where you found your information on varieties. I turned to the internet, but it really is limited for the kind of detail you know about rose varieties. Most of what I found on-line tells about growing height, color, aroma, etc. but nothing about which would do better in certain regions than others. I found one article which listed 7 or 8 varieties which were suited to North Texas, but that was about it and no explanation about why these were better choices than others.

@RussRAB yeah, I start with
[helpmefind.com], but you are right: That mostly gives dry stats. But sometimes the comments section has very helpful reviews. After Helpmefind, various web articles and you tube videos occasionally alert me to a promising variety. I am also always curious about rose books with recent reviews on varieties. I have lost count of the number of rose books I own. Checking the public library before buying your own can be smart. My favorite rose books have turned out to be th ones from Southern authors or that emphasise robust, highly disease-resistant varieties. As I text this, I am not home to check the exact titles. But this might be my favorite, even though some worthy varities have come on the market since. "Roses Without Chemicals"
[amazon.com]

Finally, the ARS has changed their award process completely, to emphasize health and disease resistance, garden quality of rises, rather than prioritizing ng exhibition tion virtues, that used to dominate. Their web site annually lists recommendations, which now also are specified according to American region.
[americangardenroseselections.com]
Of course, that is about brand new varieties only.

@Heidi68 This is the best advice I ever got about watering roses.

@RussRAB Hey Russ, sorry to belabor a point, but I was just strolling through our Baton Rouge LSU official Ag test garden, which is free to the public and combines new unnamed varieties still under test garden review with current popular varieties and a few modern classics. Local rose gardens are a great way go see up close how a given variety can perform in your local conditions.

You mentioned the Peace rose being a disappointment. It is such an historically important modern rose, but unfortunately only a sad shadow of what it can be in more appropriate climates. But if you are looking for a healthier, easier rose with some impression of Peace, consider this one:
Sunny Sky: Kordes, Germany, 1999. Golden yellow with just a touch of pink on the outer petals. Fades much less than Peace and is not quite as voluptuous a bloom, but gives the impression. This one can easily be grown without spraying for diseases. At first the blooms will seem ruffly, not particularly shapely, and maybe also not the most prolific bloomer. At least mine seemed disappointing. Now in its third year mine is putting out really nice blooms, and more regularly. This older bush at our public garden is even more impressive.

@MikeInBatonRouge - Thanks. I will keep it mind for my second selection.

I did plant the Mr Lincoln and noticed right away that it had a bumch of smaller roots running through it packing - somthing the other two didn't have. I wish I could check the roots before purchasing. Orchids are the same. In the stores, the roots are typically hidden from view. Once you get it home, you discover it has no live roots and is doomed.

@RussRAB I am always enticed by cheaper prices, being rather proudly cheap, ehem, I mean "frugal.". But I have learned over years that the big box garden centers of Walmart, Lowe's, and Home Depot, though they may be fine for a source for other plants, they are a crap shoot when it comes to roses. They even are not infrequently mislabeled. Also, they like to sell roses bareroot. There is nothing wrong with that, except timing. Bareroot really should be planted early. Roses tend to break dormancy so early down here that inevitably those bareroot roses end up planted AFTER leaves have sprouted, which is automatically stressful on them. But sometimes, despite that, they do well. I have bought my share of roses from them anyway, and sometimes that crap shoot turns out well. I planted just such a garden center bareroot Chrysler Imperial this year, though I did it in early February, potted it, and was able to shelter it indoors during that awful mid-February deep-freeze we had. So far it seems okay, but I will know better after a full season. My fingers are crosed for you.

@MikeInBatonRouge - Being cheap - er, "frugal" - is something we share. Obviously, it doesn't always pan out. I may just have to spend more to have something that works better. Lessons learned. Thanks again for sharing your experience and expertise.

I wish there was smell-o-vision because this rose smells amazing!

@Redheadedgammy Indeed....