I am not an expert in this area and my soil is a mixture of red clay and sandy clay. I water the new roses at least 2 times a week the first year. During the heat of the summer we get in the 90s and I water every 3 days all summer long. After the first year I back off to 1 time per week a good deep drink. The root systems of the new roses can’t keep up with the heat so they wilt and what you are doing sounds perfect. It will take them a growing season handle the heat better. Once they get established you will be able to see they hold up much better.

P.s. I’ll all depends on the amount of rain you get also. Here I get over 50 inches of rain a year which is a very good amount of supplemental water. If your area gets less then you will have to water more. Hopefully someone from your area can help you more.

And I water every day.

I think it does depend on the rain. You want the ground slightly moist so the roots don't dry out... but you do NOT want the roots sitting in water. If you think you are watering enough but the rose is still wilting try making some shade for the roses until they settle in the spot you have them in.

Do not fertilize them right now..... if you haven't done so, you could give them a tiny.... a very tiny amount of Superthrive in your next watering session. It helps with stress on the plants when planting them.

Depends a lot on your climate but normally when you begin to see new top growth that means the rose feels it has sufficient roots to support more plant. That usually means you can start to ease back on the watering. However, that said, DAs are notorious water hogs! My Graham Thomas is ALWAYS the first to wilt when it's dry out. So you may want to keep watering them a little more often than other roses may need. I don't think you need to every other day but maybe two or three times a week. And don't just water the top of the soil. It's better to water deeper and less often than to water shallow every day.

What I do with any new ones I get I mix up this solution from Miracle Grow called Quick start. 1/2 capful to 1 gallon of water and then I divide it into my clear plastic bottles- 3 of them and there are like lines on the sides of them I can go by. So I pour out a cupful of it into my watering can and give one rose a cup of it followed by a good regular watering in the morning and I do this every week for the next 3 weeks. Will have do them tomorrow morning. Have 3 I got to do.

Thank you everyone for your tips and ideas. I'll keep up with my schedule of deep watering every 2-3 days. The temps will be hitting high 80s-90s this week, so hopefully that will keep them hydrated. Luckily all of the roses I've planted this season are showing new growth, even some of the smaller plants that I wasn't so sure of.

I'm new to roses and have mostly just focused on high sun and drought tolerant perennials before. I have a (too large) succulent/cacti collection that's been my main focus the last 5 years or so, so I'm always worried about overwatering things, especially if humid outside hah :)

I get so much heat and sun at my property that was very excited to get interested in roses and try them out. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Now to battle the aphids/thrips (or whatever is eating my buds) ! Never a dull day-

Just a couple of more questions for anyone who might have experience growing in rocky clay soil....I've been digging my finger down about 3 inches, and my natural soil, under the compost and mulch I added to the top of each bed, is still moist and cool.

Do you think this is a good way to check on watering. Just don't want to rot them. But also not sure if 3 inches of moisture check is deep enough. I may go try to find a moisture meter today to put in deeper around the different beds.

I've also read that you can't overwater roses, especially once they start showing new growth which all of them have (they've bloomed once or twice already since planting a month ago).

Last question...which I forgot to ask in my first post, when is a recently planted rose not considered "newly planted"? David Austin's site says to water newly planted roses every other day in the summer. I just want to make sure these are still "newly planted" from a month ago. I assume they won't be "newly planted" anymore NEXT spring...probably takes a while?

Thanks again for the help with this! Just don't want to overdo watering in my soil.

I have a moisture meter and it really helps, Brendan. I think the first year is most critical. Pretty much any trouble here is solved with more water. If you are in upstate NY you might get a lot more rain and won't have to worry after the first year.

Sheila, thanks so much. We haven’t gotten much rain until last night (finally)

I’ll keep them watered on my 2-3 day schedule and keep my fingers crossed. I’ll grab a moisture meter too. Couldn’t hurt and will help me understand my soil a bit better I think