Absolutely, it can be done. Modern roses can be difficult, but rugosas, climbers, and other roses that are more closely related to wild varieties are not difficult at all.

When DW and I bought our first home years ago, I watched her mother chop off a thumb-sized root with one three-foot cane from a once-blooming climber in her yard. We put it in water and planted it the next day. It not only flourished, but was invasive. After several years, we dug it up, but it kept coming back until all the roots were gone.

Gary