One problem with pot grown plants, especially those in black plastic pots, is watering them enough but not too much. You won't always be there when hot dry hits at the middle of the day.

You can buy a box of water-sorb granules from the maker for not much money. Hydrate them before working them into the potting soil. Don't use more than a cup for two gallons of soil,

I used them successfully to keep my miniroses aiive and away from the deer. Until a tree fell on the back patio and I took that as a sign.

Thanks Still, I had planned to use water crystals but your advice on how to best to implement them is much appreciated. I read not to use back pots. Now if only I have enough time to remove mg 3 choices.

Oh would that be a cup hydrated or dry

I just moved and took a crazy number of roses with me. Many of them had remained in pots for a couple of years just in case of a move. Disclaimer: I live in a cold zone and did a few things because we expected ice and snow that may give warmer zoned folks fits, and we were in a high pressure situation due to life stuff. Just because it worked for me doesn't mean everyone else will like it. Here goes. The bigger the pot the better the rose handles the moving and jolting; however the bigger the pot the bigger the nuisance to move. Several of mine ended up being dug with as much intact soil as I could get and stuck in the same pot with three or four others and potting soil sprinkled over the whole pile just to insulate the canes. They were stashed in a horse trailer for a week and then on the patio for another week while we unpacked the house. I've been lifting them out and setting them in the new holes, prioritizing the roses with the smallest intact dirt around the roots for planting first. So far I'm optimistic that most of them have survived well, although I think that the roses that were all together in a huge pot and covered with soil handled the move better than the ones in individual smaller pots. The long term potted ones will likely stay potted til spring, I just want to get the dug-up ones protected before the worst of winter hits. I'll see in spring what the long term prognosis is for them!

Quite a process Joey…
My garden is large enough that removing 3 plants will not affect it and the buyers were gaga over the garden My sweet olive bloomed on cue and each arch was packed with roses.
Ha, wish I had a horse trailer handy. I will lease for a year in Austin hoping market softens- so plants will be pot bound for quite a while. my age makes large pot moving a recipe for a week of sciatica so 20” pot and a good dolly are my max.
Thank you for sharing.

Just curious. What are the varieties you're going to move?

Augusta Louise, Rosemantic Pink, (both new from Palatine this spring), Mary Magdline (old David Austin). My Mothers name was Augusta so I worked hard to get this one, she has been slow to establis for me but shows promise. Pink is a 4’ full round bush already and when it flushes is covered with grand blooms. i have not been able to located Mary again… she stays small and is always in bloom. my first to flower in spring and last to finish in winter Mine is a 10 year old bush, she is hard to beat in Texas for a small shrub white.

Rosemantic Pink great results on such a young bush.

as the RPink bush has aged the floweres have become heavier petaled and even changed form somewhat. These pics are from mid summer in high heat.. I think she is goung to be a keeper in South.

A cup of granules will absorb more water than you can imagine. I put a cup in a quart canning jar and added water. It filled the quart, so I split it into two quart jars, added more water, and it filled both of them. In the end it filled almost three quarts.

If you're going to a hot dry climate, spray paint the cheaper black pots white. And use a light colored mulch on top. (I don't know if rice hull mulch is available nowadays). Pine needels in one season or cypress trees in midwinter might be available for the raking.

Austin, if you add your zone and general location, it will make advice lots easier. I have moved 12 times, taking plants with me, but each place has had very different climates. I did what was best for that climate, regardless of where I was moving to. In my current climate, painting pots would be a waste of time. Even in a hot climate, I usually could rig up use chairs and soaker hoses...depends on how long. My husband always joked that we had a mobile greenhouse every time we moved...usually one car was filled with plants...every spare square inch.

I'm going to tag onto this post too. we have an offer on a house with two acres (from our average suburban lot) and I'm trying to decide how to go about moving plants before we list. I have lots of roses and daylilies (and a couple shrubs and trees that were just planted this summer) and I want to bring as many as I can. In My previous moves, I have learned that most people love the idea of a garden, but eventually let everything die or take it all out, so I figure I'd rather put in the work now to save a lot of money on purchases at the new place. right now the weather has still been warm for colorado and the ground is not frozen, so now is my chance to dig. I'm probably going to cut back and dig the roses, but trying to decide if I should pot them or bare root them. anyone store roses bare root? I will likely move them to a temporary winter home in my mother's yard and then move them again to our new property in spring, but I'm trying to decide if I should just pot them and bury the pot so that that they are easier to move? or move them directly into the ground. I'll be interested to hear others' input as to what has worked for them. Good luck with the move!

Joey, where did you move? are you still in Wy? I ask because I refer to a lot of your posts about roses since you are colder than my place in Colorado. So I appreciate your input on what works.

Because my soil is so enriched and much would come up with root ball I wondered about adding primarily worm casting and water crystals to the pot then filling in with potting mix. I cant easily handle more than a 20” pot which is small.
I would just put in grow bags for move and pot in larger pots when I get to Austin but winter, Christmas, and Jan cataract surgery makes that too difficult.
Ann I am Texas that was once part if my handle not sure why it changed on Houzz.

I agree Sam people love the garden but not the work. However, although I am an Interior Designer, so hopefully have known how to present a home…it is my gardens that have always sold my homes. Each had bidders even in soft markets and always sold fast, at or above adding. This one took 3 days. The sale price buys new plants. Hard to leave favorites but $$ helps. Just consider it. 😎

Asking price not adding

Has anyone tried Kinsman rain matt roll or their rain gels? from England and supposed to be superior to other. They relases potassium rather than salt like other gels.

Bought both but have not used yet. Bit pricy hope worth cost difference they both got such excellent reviews.

I moved a number of plants from TX, but I left the roses. I haven't lost plants before a move, but I have lost them in the heat and wind during a move (across country) or when I was so busy unpacking I forgot to water.