Whats that you say DERANGED who us? I thought it was normal to remove all of your grass to squeeze in another bush. Besides I don't like cutting grass.

You dig them up, wrap the roots in burlap or plastic trash bags, and take them with you to create a pot ghetto until new ground is found.

New people moving in will either kill the roses through neglect or just yank them up and throw them away to install a Japanese garden or something sensible like succulents with deteriorated granite.

Lol had most of them already in pots and dug up the others!

You know, I read people here saying that they took their plants with then - something to caution you against: unless the plants are exempted in the listing / documents they are considered part of the house and the new owner would have every right to go after you for the plants.

Put it an otherway, if I bought a house with considerable landscaping I'd be pretty miffed if someone took it with me without telling me.

You can exempt certain beloved plants from the sale, by contract. You can also dig them up and pot them, and store them that way, before you put the home on the market and make it clear they are not included.

Any good realtor will inform their clients of the laws. Good landscaping or lack of it impacts the resale value of a house. If I'm moving and taking my roses with me, that's my right to do so and my realtor's job to put it in the contract. If the buyer really wants the roses, they need to speak up to negotiate the sales terms; otherwise, I've seen planted yards razed to the ground before close of escrow to deliver a "clean" house.

Just be aware that if you do leave the plants in place, it can adversely affect the sales price or even put off some prospective buyers entirely. Plant collector's gardens have a very limited appeal, both those with a wide range of of dense plantings (one of everything) and those that focus on a single plant type. Very few want the maintenance headaches (to them) that are associated with these kinds of gardens.

At best, after the sale closing, don't expect the garden to look anything like it did before the sale.

When we sold our home the lady was so excited for the roses and how pretty they were. We went back a couple years later and were actually at the house ( husbands friend lived next door ) and the whole garden was tore out and weed covered . It was beyond heartbreaking! There was no way for me to take my roses to our hotel in Tn for two weeks and then to a rental . It really was a sickening feeling seeing my garden like that .

I've heard "never go back". It is too heartbreaking.

I left a home with 968 roses on two acres. The couple that bought it thought the garden was lovely. After two years they got a divorce and the husband didn't water the garden and so most of the roses died. He got in touch with the garden club to see if anyone wanted a rose plant. I went there thinking the garden would be like I left it. Alas. Looking at nothing but dead canes and half dead roses, my friends almost had to carry me out to the car. Never, never go back if you loved the garden. People who have beautiful gardens work hard to keep their plants in good condition. Beautiful gardens just don't happen and when a person buys your home, they seem to think that all they have to do is water and weed.I think that is why your place doesn't stay the same.

I have also created and left gardens in the past .... and gone back to look. They're not the same, like everyone else has said, but they're also not the ugly, waste of a yard, boring lawn I usually started with either... so I have left feeling a mixture of happy, proud and heart broken after seeing a previous garden deteriorate.

Wherever I live the soil gets better for at least a small period of time and that makes the ecosystem under my feet happy and that makes me happy. It's a good legacy to leave behind.

Although, now we aren't moving... until one of us dies (my hubby and me). So I went all out and remodeled the yard to become the yard I want to grow old in. It's the first time I am really putting down some serious life-long roots myself.

First time we moved I transplanted 55 rose bushes across town. Left a beautiful Wisteria behind that the next owner chopped down along with a nice curly willow.

I moved one garden successfully from Houston to New Orleans. My Mother In Law talked a good garden and said she'd care for them 'til I had the space ready here in Tennessee. Within six months, she swore she never had the roses (and she didn't as she hadn't even planted them.)

The roses I left in New Orleans were low care....and were replaced by a big palm (that lasted four years) and the full sun roses were replaced by azaleas that lasted about two years.

Even going back with Google satellite can be painful

If I ever buy a farm house with a lot of land, I'd dig up all my roses and move them to the farm. I can leave the grapes behind......

That's so sad to hear all these happened to everyone's gardens. I'd take all the roses with me, so I don't have to cry.

Boy this thread breaks my heart . Oldrosarian I cannot imagine the pain you felt .. you had so much invested in the garden ! Mine were only a couple years old and I was so thrilled to move south that eased the blow. Ann how infuriating!! Ugh . Rose gardening is such a labor of love !!

I still kick myself for not digging up this awesome post mounted gazebo bird feeder I had . It was only 40$ .. and lowes had them every season so I figured I'd get a new one . Well my new states lowes never had one and they stopped selling them and haven't seen a good one like it since . Also got tore out by the new lady . Such a silly thing to miss but it was something I loved .

When I moved here I brought a truckload of my flowers with. Also, not even a year ago someone was moving and put on here and HMF that he needed to get rid of a bunch of roses and other things. I drove over 120 miles one way to get about 30 of them. They all survived.

I drove by the old farm I moved from and all was bulldozed down. Nothing left so it is best not to expect anything to be the same as you left it.

I'm very fortunate to have one of Kim's roses when he moved. If I ever move from this house, I'm taking it with me. I'll call it a family heirloom, because that's what it will be.

I became sentimental over a lime tree that we planted when I was pregnant with my daughter, because I craved limes so much. We moved when my daughter was nine and later drove by the old house to see it. The new owners had trimmed it like a box hedge. It looked so odd.

I don't even wanna think about it I hope this will be my forever home

I took cuttings of the rose at my old house when I moved. Of course there was only one variety so it was easy. Now that I have 30 or so it won't be so easy. But first of all, of the roses I have, there are only a handful that I seriously want to keep, and secondly, of these, most are easily available, so it would actually be more efficient to buy a bush than to spend the time to take cuttings, when there are so many other things to worry about during a move. If we move I'd have to do some serious garden revision for the house to sell I'm sure, but it's unlikely that we will ever move if my spouse has anything to say about it.

I'm here for good. I want my roses to be here for 100 years or more like the Sacramento Cemetery garden. Maybe my grandchildren can revive it, like the children in the "Secret Garden". They are not born yet. It could be like "Ninfa" I say modestly.

This is such a good thread. It's really hard to accept that everything you pour your heart into and care about may not last forever.

The reason I actually started this thread was because I came across another thread where a woman had just moved into a new house and she was considering whether she should rip out all the roses to make room for a low water use xeriscape. It was obvious the previous owner had been a rose a collector, with a number of bushes jammed in wherever they could fit in the front yard. Here's the thread: Take my rose bushes!

Parker, I took a look at that thread. I assume you were you kidding when you said she would get "nasty" replies if she posted on the rose forum? Overall, I think we are pretty nice and understanding here and would simply advise her to dig up the roses and give them away if she doesn't want them. You have another thread where you ask how can we "justify" buying more than one type and here you say "deranged" rose enthusiast. I appreciate if you are trying to understand those of us who have the rose bug, but I hope there is no malice to your words. Of course plant hoarding is a real thing, but the subject should be approached with compassion. Forgive me if I'm being too serious, but I'm beginning to wonder about your choice of words.

As for low water use xeriscape, many of my well established roses require less water than some of my so called drought tolerant plants. It depends on the variety. But it's fine if the poster just doesn't like roses. To each their own. My garden is filled with a little of everything, but I have friends who have nothing but roses. They enjoy and nurture them, because the roses respond in kind.

I moved in 2013 and took around 400 plants with me, about half of them roses. Gah, what a pain! In the big gaping holes my plants left behind, I put ordinary bushes and things so it wouldn't look bad when we sold it. Even taking so much with me, there was still a lot left behind, and very little of it is there now. I try not to look. I can't imagine having to move away from my current garden, which is almost five times bigger. O.O

Good points Quert and Sheila. A seller must be unrelenting in making it clear to the Realtor of any landscaping they want to take and review the listing in the MLS to make sure it's stated. In my state, it is true that if a seller wants to take a "fixture" after the sale of the property like a chandelier or some other item that's affixed to the property (planted roses) they must state it in the listing to exempt it from the sale of the home or write it into the purchase contract. It could put a wrench in the deal during the negotiations and potentially discourage the buyer if they see a beautiful yard and then told it's going bye-bye. The best way is to make sure it's disclosed in the listing in the MLS up front so the buyer is clear, put that fact into the agent's showing instructions and the make sure it's written into the contract.

I never thought of this situation. So sad! You all, we can't leave our gardens!!!!

When I sold my house and designer and collector's garden of nearly 30 years, it was to a real estate investor who had intentions of maintaining it as a rental property. I had full permission to remove any or all of the existing landscaping. Since I was unsure what sort of property I would be moving to, I only saved a few treasured plants (and all my containers) to take with me, gave more to away to gardening friends, and then held a major plant sale to remove most of the rest. I just stipulated that the larger trees and shrubs and those plants likely to be damaged by transplanting remain in place. Some of the trees and shrubs were quite rare and had matured into large specimens.

Long story short, after some updating the house was sold on the open market instead of being maintained as a rental - the market was just too hot NOT to sell!! Almost 10 years later, the garden is trashed!! The trees and shrubs are all still in place but nothing has been tended to or pruned in all that time and my carefully designed and landscaped garden is a weedy jungle. I often have to travel in that neighborhood but generally detour to avoid having to drive by. It is heartbreaking.

parker25mv, a dear friend of mine who exhibited and had a collection of many rare roses, including some unnamed roses from the late Frank Benardella, sold her house last June. She had to move far away, and couldn't take them with her. The new owners swore up and down that they would take care of the plants. Fast forward to October, new owners call my friend to tell her their landscaper will be tearing out the plants. Friend quickly calls in the troops, and a few of us went over (with permission) and dug out 80% of the plants and they now have good homes.

I often think to myself what I would do if I had to move. There are certain roses I know I would take with me. Others that are easily replaced would stay. Sometimes this is how I know what I should shovel prune and which ones are the ones that truly give me joy. When I think, "wow, if I ever moved I would take that rose with me". Or, "I'd never have a garden without that rose", I know that's a keeper.

I'm sure itt would be hard leaving my beloved garden behind, but think of how much joy it will be to design and plant a whole new one! I've learned so much from this garden, it would be such a joy to start a whole new garden. Just as long as its in the same climate and I don't have to start all over again. LOL

I've learned so much from this garden, it would be such a joy to start a whole new garden. Just as long as its in the same climate and I don't have to start all over again.

Oh, SoFL Rose zn10, I wish moving were that easy. Even staying in the same zone has a learning curve. Differences in humidity, in wind, in pests, all take some years to figure out.

Coming back up north (still south of the Mason Dixon Line) my gardening here is very different than it was in Virginia.

If we could only find rose people who grow roses near us AND are willing to talk roses.......

Here I found that there were cook book rose growers, who didn't know that our different valleys here have very different soils. And no one seemed to know that acidic soils (in my area) are not good for roses on Dr. Huey rootstock.

I'll save the sad story of my Mother's Queen Elizabeth roses for another time. Suffice it to say that I could tell that my parents' health problems were getting worse when I could see that her Queen Elizabeths hadn't been cared for for three years.

"I'm here for good. I want my roses to be here for 100 years or more like
the Sacramento Cemetery garden. Maybe my grandchildren can revive it,
like the children in the "Secret Garden". They are not born yet. It
could be like "Ninfa" I say modestly." Sheila, I think that is kind of what I am trying to do with my crazy garden project out at my land. I pour so much love and energy into it, and it's not like it's our back yard where we can enjoy it day-to-day. But though my DS has no interest at all in this garden,well, all I can say is...you know that idea that a tree should be planted for every child that is born? Well, MY kid got a WHOLE ROSE GARDEN with LOTS of new trees to celebrate his life, and when I'm too old to care for it, I hope it'll be nice enough that city hall will be willing to help out and it can be opened to the public! So I can share my love with lots of people and indirectly add a little tiny grain of happiness to their lives. (and provide a few people with jobs....those that maintain the garden, natch...)And, what if my DS marries a woman who loves gardening as I do?(he's only 18, so it's early for that...) What if some day I AM blessed with grandchildren? What if one of them loves gardening? I try to think like this when I'm feeling down and going through a "what-am-I-doing-with-my-life????????" type of moment...

Exactly, Bart.

I am getting ready to put my house on the market. It's easy to write in the listing "roses do not convey", which means the roses don't go with the property. I have a small lot now, so I don't have the 100s of roses some of my fellow rose gardenere tend. I decided which of my darling roses I could not bear to think of being "murdered" by a new owner and am potting them up to come with me. I'm buying inexpensive body bag roses to fill in the holes. I've also thought of offering 6 months professional rose maintenance to buyers as part of the deal.

If I ever move I'll leave the climbers, of which I have 6. My Cherry Parfait, Ebb Tide, and most definitely my Fragrant Plum (I love that one) are coming with me. I planted a Milwaukee Calatrava last year in a bed surrounded purple and black poppies at my moms house as a present for her, and she'd better take it with her when she retires and moves, lol.

We will most likely move in about 10 years when we are both retired. Our house and yard will be too big for us. I would probably take some roses with me, but leave most. If the new owners don't want them, they can take them out. I too started with a blank slate, so at least they would be getting great garden beds to plant whatever they want.

What?! Move?! Are you crazy!!! If it became absolutely necessary, I would make it contingent upon allowing me to move into the barn as the resident gardener. I would no sooner leave my roses for new owners than I would my pets.

A woman approached me last year wanting buy our house, which was not for sale. As she was talking, her eyes were scanning my gardens and I heard her mumble something like that's a lot of work, so I knew without a doubt she would take the roses out and fill it in with junipers or pave it over, or as some have said, let it go to ruin.

Holly, this thread must resonate with you since you are going through this very thing, right now.

Bart, two brains, identical thoughts. If I ever have to sell in my old age, I've thought it might be worth it to list the property in an English-language gardening magazine, hoping to attract some youngish retirees who want to move to Italy and live with nature and a garden. I can't think of any other class of people who'd want this property and be able to maintain it. I too fantasize about DD one day marrying a gardening enthusiast, though, as she's mechanical-minded herself, I don't know that the chances are that good. There's also work to think about once she's done with school: she'll have to go where the jobs are.

What an inspired idea, Melissa! I'm going to remember that.

I reduced! Dug up the roses I really wanted, combined some others to fill the beds and replanted other beds with veggies, flowers, annuals. I offered the buyers one year of free rose pruning and consultation, a one-year membership in the Phoenix Rose Society, along with 2-3 fertilizations for the 70 roses they inherited. Made the tags look nice, mulched the beds and checked the irrigation. We made up an 'owners manual' for the house and gardens. Here it is 18 months later and we get an occasional email from the new owners. We only moved about 15 miles and stayed in the city limits so the trip isn't a major ordeal. I gave them a pair of Corona hand shears and a pair of rose gauntlets after the last pruning. When they decided to remove a few roses, they texted me whether I wanted the roses and if I preferred to dig them up myself. I really don't miss any of the roses I left behind. The ones I couldn't easily replace came with me and the big ones stayed behind. The new owners will also allow me to come and take cuttings of the OGR's if I want. If we had moved farther from the old house, I'd have still given them a one-year membership to the rose society and left them a local contact for a Consulting Rosarian. Seventy roses can be overwhelming for novice gardeners.

please take ur favorite ones with u...not everybody loves roses. people are going to bring them down if they dont like to work with them.

Wow, what a happy story Moroseaz! :-) You have done a good deed.

I wish I purchased Lynnette's old house, that would be a dream house with 968 roses, climbers, ramblers........

Holly, Can you move some of your roses to your church garden since you work there? I am sure they have a garden to share......

We have a community vegetable garden, a soccer field, a playground and a center courtyard. There's very small rose garden planted with some scentless, bulletproof standards, do no place at my church for them. My 7 favorites are coming with me & the rest will stay here. I spoke to my realtor about offering a similar deal to Moroseaz.

The roses are absolutely covered in fresh new growth & house still has about 12 days before it's listed. I would not be surprised if I had fresh roses in the house by mid March to attract buyers. Just as long as the house sells before the Japanese beetles arrive!

Gardens, private and public, seldom outlast their creators. The "garden" doesn't look as it did before you came to live where you now garden. Why should we expect the one we leave to look as if we are still there, when we aren't? In my case, you take what you can't live without; give away what you want to make sure is preserved and turn your back on what's left. You can very seldom "go home". It won't be the same.