I grew some Rosa moyesii from seed, and it took four years for them to start blooming. That means a few blooms per plant. I planted them into the garden as soon as they got established in a 4 inch pot. They are in full sun in a raised bed of sandy loam soil. They get watered every couple of weeks in Summer. If your conditions are less ideal, it will take longer.

they will do fine on their own roots and will transplant fine.
Worth keeping? that's your decision.
but not if you keep them in the shade in poor conditions.
How long til bloom? --let us know.

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience".~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."
Greek Proverb

Thank you. Looks like I should expect to get blooms in another year (or perhaps two) and it will be interesting to see what the flowers look like - I will respond to this post when that happens (with pics, hopefully) :)

I will have to try digging up the roses in the shady corner of the year to transplant into a pot, probably when the plants go dormant.

They will grow much better in the open ground. If you want them to bloom quickly, move them to their permanent location as soon as possible.

Update from April 2013: the plant just got its first bud (from the look of the fringe petals the color is likely to be red/pink).

Here are a couple of pictures:

1. First bud

2. Full plant with a pack of fertilizer for scale

About 3 years from seed to first bloom in close to ideal conditions (grown in a planter till this spring, good exposure to sun). Its siblings, still growing in hardpan clay under poor lighting conditions are not doing quite as well (no buds to be seen on any of them).