Question
We have six rose plants along the west side of our house that are shaded during the morning hours.  We'd like to transplant them all into a new garden spot in the backyard that will get sun for the better part of the day, and also allow us to enjoy them more.

When is the best time to transpant the roses, and is there any special treatment to help them with the process?

Thanks,
bill  

Answer
Hi Bill,
Thanx for your question.  Now is the best time to move your roses.  Go ahead and prune back the canes to make the shrub about 3 feet tall.  Dig in a circumference about 8 inches away from the shrub down to a depth of about 8-12 inches.  Use a good sized pitch fork or shovel.  Remove the entire plant and shake off excess dirt.  Trim off any dead roots and plant the root ball in a new hole dug about the same size as the old hole.  If these are hybrid roses (many of our garden roses are) be sure not to bury the grafted knob between the root system and the canes otherwise all you will have growing next year is the plant from the root stock and not the grafted hybrid.  Be sure to amend the soil with some cow manure and water the plant well.  You can transplant safely up until about 30 days before the first hard frost so now is the time to do it unless you want to wait until after the last frost next spring but you will reduce blooming.  If you live in the northern areas of the country you might want to consider a nice deep straw or cypress mulch about 4 inches deep as added protection but make sure your soil drains well and the plant area doesn't become soggy or the roots will rot.  I hope this helps.
Tom