Hi,

I have two Etoile De Hollande climbing roses only in the ground a few years. As they are pretty new and in good condition I would like to give them to neighbours to grow - front of house. (I have two people lined up). For me, the cultivar is much, much too big.

Being fairly new, I thought they might come out quite easily. In fact the root structure is quite odd, with not multiple main roots coming from the base but has one main tap root, thick as my wrist, going down to New Zealand. I imagine they wanted a lot more water than I gave and went searching. There are clusters of mini feeder roots near the base of cane.

So, my question is: what might happen if I cut the main tap root off at about 30cm? Would the feeder roots and a bit of the main root be enough to get the rose going again? Etoile is so, so vigorous and the plants are so healthy, I think there might be a good chance. I don't want to give the plants to neighbours if the odds are that it will not work.

Has anyone here had a rose with one big tap root? Have you tried to move it? Any thoughts very welcome. Thanks