Register a third vote for the cattle prod.
What I notice in my garden is that places with the warmest soil grew roses fastest. In cooler areas, the roses are coming along much more slowly. If there's any life in them, I'd say keeping the ground moist together with the special sprinkling rites that Toni advocates might possibly help. Of course, you could have gotten defective roses.
I have a few that seem like they are starting very slowly. And one that seems completely dead for no apparent reason. One Marie Jeanne that I had taken for dead started setting leaves a week ago. So I guess it may not be time to give up hope completely.
