Almost every month in the year, someone moves from one home to another or moves rose plants from one garden to another.
Many plants are left behind, but many more are killed because they were not appropriately moved.

While there are several lines of thought about how to grow and move bushes, every day, I find people growing roses and other plants with NO thought at all.
Some think the rose is a God-given, delicate, weak, but beautiful plant that must be coddled like a baby and that only the well-versed or lucky, green thumber can grow it.
Others believe this gorgeous thing is kin to a weed and can be pulled up and reset any time of the year without ample care or watering.
These two examples are the extremes, but the rose is one of the most versatile of all the semi-deciduous shrubs grown that produces high-quality blooms.
It is true that even without care, this plant will do its utmost to survive and produce seed and is most likely to do so for several years, but there would not be many flowers, no quality, and poor plants.
Thus, some thought should be given before moving plants.
Move A Dormant Rose Plant
It is much better to move a rose plant while completely dormant when possible.
This would be after all blooms are frozen in the fall, any time from then on ’til new growth begins to appear in the spring, providing, of course, the ground is not frozen too hard.
We often find roses must be moved when in full bloom. This is the time to use common sense.
Related: Planting a Selection of Roses in Arizona or Kentucky
Here are the steps to follow:
- First, prepare the spot in which you want to plant the bush.
- Get the soil mixed with peat moss, compost, or some humus.
- Dig a hole to lift the plant from the old bed and slide it into the hole when you arrive at the new garden.
But we cannot just dig that plant up (blooms, leaves, and all) and move it even if we get some of the soil with the roots.
It’s tough to get much soil to hang onto the roots.
Here are the following steps to consider:
- Cut the plant back, perhaps 2 or 3 eyes above the hard, mature stems.
- Remove all foliage (your plants should look like those purchased in the spring).
- Have an old burlap sack or piece of plastic handy to wrap the newly dug plant.
- Do not dig and allow roots to be exposed to the sun and wind for More Than a Few Moments.
- Now remove all mulch and topsoil about ½” to 1″ inch from the top.
- Start digging a ball of soil around the plant about 8″ inches from the stem and throw the soil away. (just as if you were digging a small ditch around the ball of soil and the plant)
- When this ditch is dug about 10″ inches deep, you may take your spade and trim the ball of soil down to about 10″ inches across.
- Trim or shave off a small slice at a time, working around the ball.
- Trim the bottom off round and cut under the plant with the spade.
- Do not try to lift the plant out of the hole yet.
- Take that old piece of burlap or plastic, work it around and under the ball of soil.
- Tie it tight and lift the plant from the hole by the burlap or plastic (not picking it up by the stems).
- Do not remove the plastic or wrapping from around the soil until it is set in the new hole.
- Carefully unwrap the soil by filling the hole nearly full of the loose, mixed soil.
- Fill the hole’s balance with water 3 to 4 times before finally filling it full of soil.
- Mound the plant just as in the spring but remove the mound in 8 or 10 days.
Even if part of the soil breaks off the roots when unwrapping, the plant will not die.
The more soil you lose, the greater the setback in the summertime, but the plant will not die.
I have taken roses up nearly bare root in July, wrapped them in wet sphagnum moss, hauled them 600 miles, and planted them with no loss whatsoever.
I did put up some sticks at 4′ foot intervals stretching thin, screening over the plants for 2 weeks.
The thin material lets enough light through but prevents the sun from causing dehydration.
The covering must be at least 12″ inches above the top of the plant.
53832 by Jason Black