OK, let me see if I can explain this clearly enough to get help...

When we moved into our house, there was an established bed against the garage wall. It was mostly daylilies, weeds and one enormous euonymus (say that five times fast). I got rid of the weeds, divided the daylilies, and planted floribundas at the front of the bed and a Dublin Bay climber against the garage wall, next to the euonymus that I didn't exactly love, but kept because it was big and healthy and stayed green in winter.

Seven years later, the euonymus got scale and was totally infested at shocking speed. So out it came two weeks ago. Now I have a nice new area that will fit at least two or three more roses.

When the previous owner built the bed, she sloped it upward against the garage wall. The home inspector told us at the time we bought it that it would be a good idea to lower the grade of the bed so the dirt isn't touching the siding, to prevent insects, rot, etc. Now that the euonymus is out, it's feasible to do this.

Here's the question: What's the best way to do this without causing problems for my now established, ridiculously healthy and hardy climber? Do I just dig it up completely, keep as much intact root system as I can, replant, and hope for the best? Or is there a gentler way of settling it deeper into the soil? Can I try to scoop some dirt out from underneath it and let it sink? Should I wait until spring when the rose is dormant to do anything? (I hope so, because it's over 10 feet tall, 8 feet wide and has thorns like shark teeth. It uprooted its own trellis last month.)

Being in zone 5, just lowering the dirt around the crown is not an option. It does keep several feet of good cane most winters, but I still want to keep the crown buried.

Thanks for any help...