Re: Moving large roses?

At 03:32 PM 1/21/2004 -0800, Susannah wrote:
Hello all --
A garden I'm working on has three large old roses that are being shaded by nearby trees. (Clearly the trees have grown since the roses were planted.)  I have no idea of the varieties -- I don't deal with roses much, except for wild ones.  These are of the "ordinary, tame" type -- not climbers, and not the sort of old-fashioned tame roses that make a large suckering clump.  They are around 5 or 6 feet tall.  I planned to move them this winter (it's still winter here in Oregon) but a friend suggested today that tame roses might be much less tolerant of digging-up than the varieties I'm accustomed to.  Any advice/opinions?  I'm a gentle gardener, and would of course get the largest root ball possible and keep them well watered for the next few summers.  Goes without saying :-).  But is that enough?
Thanks very much,
-- Susannah

I agree that you really needn't worry.  I bought a house in Eugene, OR last summer that had two roses growing under huge birch trees.  I don't know what variety they are, but  figured any rose that could survive that without a speck of blackspot, mildew or aphids was worth saving.  The day I dug them It was nearly 100 out, but I was having the trees pruned and they were about to get trampled anyway. I wasn't able to get much root at all and no soil with them because of the roots from the birch trees.  I had holes already dug to put them in, so just plopped them in and gave them a good watering. One dropped all of its leaves, the other just wilted a lot. Within a month, they had both put on lots of new growth and by the end of the summer they were blooming their heads off, absolutely gorgeous--I was so glad I saved them. I also transplanted several others that were not as badly situated and they did well also.

HarleyLady
San Felipe, Baja MX (Zone 10)
Eugene, OR  (Zone 8)
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