Question
I live in central NC and planted 3 knockout rose bushes about a month ago. I am not well versed in gardening and am trying to landscape around my new home. The bushes were planted on the side of my house, thinking that they would get morning and afternoon sun. However, since our trees have gotten more greenery they are getting less sun. They haven't produced any new blooms, the roses that were present when we bought them have fallen off; and the greenery is getting dull. They just aren't looking well. When we planted them we used organic tree and shrub soil with rose food. My question is if we should move them to the back of the house where they will get full sun (for sure) or wait it out to see if things improve? Also, what are some signs that the bushes are getting over/under watering and too little sun? Thank you so much for your help!

Answer
Because you gave your roses a very good start, they should have done much better for you. You are right, the problem is the lack of sun. When a rose bush has been in the ground for a couple of years, they can usually do okay with 4 hours of direct sun. New rose bushes need at least 6 hours of full sun to give them a good start. So if they are getting a minimum of 6 hours, I wouldn't move them simply wait and see as all plants go under some stress when first planted in a new situation. The problem is if you move them now and place them in full sun, that could actually cause them to dieback a lot. However if the roses were in pots and the soil is still stuck to the roots and won't fall off, then you can move them. If they were bare roots plants and the soil will fall off, this will kill the frail feeder roots and put the roses under stress which could kill them. There could be another reason why they are not doing well. Knock Out roses seem to re-act badly to chemicals even some fertilizers. If they are getting enough sunshine, they may just not like the fertilizer in the potting soil. Be careful with Knock Outs and don't use any harsh sprays to get rid of bugs or diseases, as I get a lot of complaints about these roses  re-acting badly to them.
When roses are not getting enough water, the leaves will start to bend over and then they will go a yellow colour. Finally they die and go brown. Not enough sun will cause poor or no growth and the leaves will be small and spindly and tend to bend towards one direction, but usually there is no new growth. If your roses are not getting enough sun, they are not going to get better. Have the new holes ready, fill them up with water so the soil is nice and damp and then in the cool of the evening, re-plant the bushes. Cut them back to about 6 inches and water, water, water to keep the soil damp but not wet. If they go under stress in the heat of the sun, cover them with wet newspaper during the afternoon high sun.