We'll see what others say, but I'd expect difficulty in digging them now, with a much better success rate when they're dormant.

Patrick

Do those suckers have good roots? Do you have a lot of them--ie not much to lose?
I would think that digging them now is not the concern--with our wet mild weather wouldn't it be ideal? And the warm wet conditions *right now* should help them establish too.

But getting them established in a new location directly planted in the ground could be a challenge IF we get a hot dry spell before they root in, especially if you won't be able to keep them watered, mulched and somewhat shaded. Could you pot them up in a container and get a root system established and then plant them out?

Thanks for the follow-ups. When I do take this on, I would prefer to simply move directly to the new spot and not half to worry much about nurturing, so it sounds like I should be patient and wait till winter.

IMHO... waiting is better... we transfered part of a wild rose in february or march... just when it was starting to leaf out. found a good long cane, and pulled it with roots, then moved it to a corner of the yard. It then died off because of a late freeze out here, and after a few weeks of fretting, it leafed out superstrong with good sucker growth :) I do not think it would have been able to accomplish that unless it had been dormant :) We gave it absolutely no care at all either... just let nature handle it :)

Yeah, thanks. I'm definately going to wait. This is a fairly big project, that I'd like to just get right the first time. I hope to remove enough suckers to plant an area about 25 feet long.

I hope that wild rose in Oregon was really a wild rose, and not introduced, pestiferous Rosa canina, R. multiflora or R. rubiginosa. Bellingham area has large patches of native species.

Ron,
That does raise a question for me. I've been going on the assumption that the rose I have is nootka, but it's taller (about 12 feet) than the descriptions I've read, which say it reaches only about 6 feet. It does look exactly like the rose I see growing all around Bellingham, however.

Nootka rose grows up to 12' tall. It has flowers to 3 3/8" wide, borne by themselves or 2-3 together, followed by hips to 3/4" wide. R. pisocarpa is more common, but it blooms later, with flowers up to 2" wide, in clusters of up to 9 flowers, on a shrub to 10' tall.

Specimens with intermediate characteristics do occur.

OK, I have what i am assuming to be a yellow rose alone a fence line. It is over 12 feet tall and covered with blooms. She suckers bad. But, everyone loves it so much i just pull and hand out. My neighbor tried one this spring. It died back too the ground, butis now comming up from the roots. My question is can this rose spread disease of soe kind. I live in central ore, and so far no problems so far.
Thanks