thecitychicken,

I've moved roses every in every month of the summer.Here's my experience with it. If they have blackspot you need to spray them rigorously. Get them on a spray schedule from now until late fall. You want to get as many new leaves on those bushes from now until the fall so they can make it through winter.

The secret recipe for me has been to water, water, water. Deep water them before you move them. Then once you re-plant them watch them so that they don't dry out.

As far as pruning goes, I'd wait and see how far down they wilt, if any, then prune off the wilted part.

I'd really concentrate on the blackspot prevention once they are in. I've bought so many roses reduced almost to 90% because they were BS infested and the trick has been to race againts time to get the new leaves going again before the cold weather sets in.

Just my experience,

Betty

Katy, you could probably "bare root" them now -- but you would have to replant them immediately. And they will do better if you retain a root ball.
Why don't you plant them in containers and let them grow that way for a few months.

If they are small immature plants, cutting them back radically AND pulling them out of the ground is likely to be more than they can handle.

None of this, of course, addresses the blackspot problem. That is a fungal issue, and must be addressed with use of a fungicide, and/or at the very least removal of the affected leaves.

Jeri

Katy, you have to plant them immediately in the garden or in pots. Storing bare roots requires very precise conditions of temperature (30s) and high humidity. Even so they seem to start going bad after 6 months or so.

You can transplant now by defoliating them, leaving most of the canes alone, and watering every day or two, depending on light vs. heavy soil..

Katy,

I don't want to hijack your thread but this is a question I have wondered about myself but for different reasons.

michaelg,

I am in a cold zone and winter protection is quite the challenge at times. I have wondered about trying to "bare root" in very late fall, say end of Oct. and store over winter to re-plant in spring. Might make the 6 month window. Do you think they would have a chance?? Might you have any recommendations on how to store??

I have a website bookmarked from a fellow in Alaska that grows tons of roses, many way out of zone. It is where I first got the idea. However, after digging them up he buries them underground for the winter in a huge deep pit. I don't have the space for that but do have a few cool-ish spaces in the house/garage.

If I could get a handle on the procedure I might have to select one to sacrifice for the purposes of experimenting. Gee there all doing pretty good though it will be a tough call.

Cathy

Cathy, I have no experience in this at all. But-- burying works because humidity is 100% and temperatures stay near freezing. I don't think you could maintain the right temperatures above ground except in a cold-storage facility. Roots freeze at around 22-25 and top growth starts if it's over 40 for a few days. Maybe if you wait until temps of around 10-12 threaten, then bag the plants airtight and put them in an unheated attached garage covered with massy material like moist soil to stabilize temperature swings.