I have the same problem with my Life of the Party/Huntington’s 100th. Scary to think of cutting off the roots!

It’s in a partly shaded spot with morning sun.

i’d like to keep it in that space, but wouldn‘t I have to dig out all the roots before planting the trimmed bush?

What about destroying the pot somehow without cutting any part of the bush? Thus not moving it at all?

You could if you were able to build something around the soil ball to enclose it so it doesn't erode away and allow the plant to dry out and its roots to be damaged. Ralph Moore did that with a huge old althea and his Paul Neyron. As with most things, there is no "one, true way". Do what you think is best.

@roseseek Thank you! I think I'm going to work up the courage to bare root it. That seems like it would be the easiest way to replant. I have a healthy, blooming backup plant from a rooted cutting just in case, but the grafted plant is tough and should be fine.

@User you're welcome. The bare root plant you originally purchased was an established plant when they dug it and bare rooted it to sell. Bare rooting it a second time shouldn't harm it as long as it isn't allowed to dry out before it breaks into new growth. Hopefully, you're going to receive some rains which will work WONDERS with newly planted bare roots. That water literally FORCES new growth from the plants. I'm sure you've noticed how much you can see your garden has grown after a decent rain. That's how Nature does it. Water in the plant, light to cause photosynthesis and push transpiration so the plant begins pushing water from the root to the cane tip. You really don't require courage. Just prune it where it appears the top and bottom are balanced, plant it and stand back! If there aren't rains forecast for your area, then mound it or build a cardboard cylinder to hold damp soil around the canes until it shows new growth, when you can begin gradually uncovering it to acclimate it to the hotter, drier conditions. You've got it. Have fun!

I’m bumping this thread because I’d like to move two own-root minifloras out of the ground and into pots.

i bought ”Unbridled” and ”Buttercream” in 2018, as tiny bare roots from the entity formerly known as For Love of Roses. They had a fantastic selection of minifs and miniatures, but the proprietor stopped answering my emails a few years ago and I’m assuming they are no more.

I planted the roses in 2019, at their present spots. They get morning and midday sun, not much in the afternoon, Drip irrigation, although the lawn sprinklers sometimes overspray.

Because of their small size, they always look somewhat lost among the others. I think that potting them would make their exquisitive blooms stand out more …when they bloom. Great spring flushes but not much in the hot months, good fall flush.

For potting soil, I mostly use Miracle Gro with the water-retension beads. Should I add, say, chicken manure (I have plenty on hand) or Perlite (ditto) ?

We have alkaline clay soil. Will the roses adjust easily to that? I wouldn't want them to be homesick …😏

I have to amend my post above. I put these roses into the ground in late summer or early

fall of 2019. My camera’s memory is better than mine …

@SylviaWW 9a Hot dry SoCal if you're referring to the MG Moisture Control Potting Soil (preferably NOT the "organic" mess made from "landfill material", but the good stuff in the blue bag which contains Coir) you use it straight from the bag. Nothing else is required. It contains plant food and the Coir adds the extra water absorption and drainage required, at least for a while. After several weeks, you can start feeding with your choice of plant food. I've used that MG Moisture Control product for a MANY years, both at work for clients' as well as hanging baskets and planted pots for sale at the nursery, at the beach and inland in the mid desert. I use it here along the Central Coast also and need nothing with it for reliable, dependable results. It's all I've raised my seedlings in for as many years.

@SylviaWW 9a Hot dry SoCal, I think the owner of FLofR died.

https://www.vindy.com/obituaries/2021/12/richard-jay-anthony-1943-2021/

Roseseek, thanks about the vote of confidence in MG Moisture Control. i’ll stick with it.

vaporvac, I’m so sorry about Richard Anthony. He must have been a remarkable person. His web site was a thing of beauty.

Fortunately, burling Leong at Burlington Roses stocks many of the same smaller roses — and her bare roots were much bigger and healthier!

I was so sorry to lose For Love of Roses. I bought many wonderful roses, some irreplaceable.

I spoke with Richard many times and he was always so nice.

Kristine, i also still have ”Hello Sunshine,” another miniflora from FLOR.

With all the rain this year, and daytime temps no higher than low sixties most of the time, I wonder if I’ll have any blooms by 4/3.!

Not to speak ill of the dead, but Richard Anthony stole a lot of money from people who ordered roses from him in the last several years of For Love of Roses. Yes, he used to have a good functioning company, but he ended up being a crook. No offense, but let's keep the reality in perspective.

I had a bad experience years ago with "Russian Roses for the North". They accepted an order and then disappeared with my money. I still remember all the wonderful hardy roses they had listed which were not available elsewhere. When I lived in Alaska that order would have been a dream come true.

I don't really know if the whole thing was a scam or if something happened with their business and they had those roses at one time.

They had rose knowledge because they listed rose treasures that the nonrose people would never had heard of.

FWIW, Richard Anthony still owes me roses. live and learn (hopefully).