Where are you located at? It's hard to say what you need to do right now without knowing where the rose is and what the climate is like. It would also be very helpful if you could post a picture of the plant so we can get a better idea of what is going on. You say you used "organic soil" but was it for potting? If it was top or garden soil it is too heavy to be used in a pot. You should use a good quality POTTING soil only. You don't need to add bone meal and/or Epsom salt. After the rose has bloomed the first time then you can go ahead and fertilize using any well balanced fertilizer.

As a rule of thumb to tell what is alive or dead wood you can start at the tip of a cane and snip off about an inch. Look at the inside center of the cane. If it is a moist greenish white color it's live cane and OK to leave. If it is dry and dark tan or brown in the center it is dead wood. Keep cutting down the cane in small sections until you find where the center of the cane is that greenish white color. From there down the cane will be alive. You can remove dead wood at any time of the year without harming the rose. Once you've removed all the dead wood then you can decide if the plant needs further pruning for shape and size.

Thanks for the tips! I'm located in Upstate New York, zone 6A. I will be sure to post a photo tomorrow.

Here are some photos of my rose. As you can see, the new growth is looking healthy and vigorous but the rest of it just looks dead to me. It is planted in Miraclegro organic choice potting mix.

That looks like a lot of dead wood. Cut all of it off and hope that it starts to fill back out. Did you leave this rose outside unprotected all winter? Potted roses in a cold zone must be protected in some way to survive our temperatures.

It has only been potted for the last month or so. It was in the ground until then with a cover of salt hay and leaves for winter protection. I didn't like its location so I decided to transplant it into a pot while it was still dormant.

Also -- was this a budded rose? Or growing on its own roots?

If budded, that live growth could be rootstock.

I believe it is on its own roots. It was purchased from Cottage Farms through QVC and they describe it as a Spanish sunset floribunda landscape rose.

Here is the plant after I cut the dead wood away. This frustrates me because I did everything the planting guide suggested and I am left with this. Hopefully it will grow and fill back in. Calling the company so that I can be sent a replacement.