Norton wrote:

Can anyone advise me of any precaution I should take when moving established
roses to a new patch.

This assumes it is the correct time to plant bareroots in your region
and that the established roses are large, 6 feet and taller. The fall
is the perfect time to plant bareroots in my zone, Zone 9. That makes
it the perfect time to transplant as well.

1. Prepare the new home thoroughly, adding lots of organic matter to
the soil and a handful of bone meal. Loosen the soil down to 18 inches
to 24 inches. The perfect rose hole is 24 x 24.

2. Cut the rose back so the canes are no longer than 2 feet. You are
creating a bareroot rose. This can be intimidating but it works. Don't
cheat and leave 4 foot canes. It will not improve your rose.

3. Strip off all the leaves.

4. Dig the rose out using a shovel at least 18 inches from the crown of
the plant. Don't worry about the small, fine roots. Try to get as much
of the very large anchor root as possible, at least 18 inches of it.
If you can't dig out a root, cut it with your secateurs.

5. After the rose is out of the soil, balance the size of the top to
the size of the bottom. If you need to remove an older cane and limit
the total number of canes to 3 to 5, do it. Be heartless and brutal.

5. If you cannot plant the rose immediately or if the conditions are
dry, soak the removed rose in a container of water large enough to
submerge it until you are ready to plant.

6. Plant it in the new hole with *no* fertilizer. Do not fertilize the
rose until after it is fully leafed out with at least 2 inches of
vigorous new growth. Do not tamp the soil. Simply water it in.

7. Keep the rose well-watered but not drowned. If it is hot and dry,
mound the canes with mulch so that only the tips are exposed.

Here is a picture of a 7 x 7 foot rose that I dug up with lots of help
last winter. Note that the canes are too long and needed to be cut back
just a bit more.

http://home.earthlink.net/~cbernstei...s/Bareroot.jpg