Roses move pretty much like any other perennial, just fine. So it shouldn't be any problem for you.

It depends on how long you think you're going to have them out of the bed for revamping whether you want to pot them or plant them. If you feel it will only be a short time and before the high heat of summer sets in then you can go ahead and pot them up short term. If it's going to take a good part of the summer then I'd plant them in the holding bed until next spring. I've grown roses in pots as permanent places and I've moved roses in July when it was very hot and they've survived fine but those aren't the best of conditions.

Prepare the new holes before you dig them out. If the rose is very large or very tall you can prune it back some before moving it so it will be easier to handle. Try to dig as much root ball as you can and disturb it as little as possible. You can put it in a wheel barrow or on a tarp to drag it if it's very large and heavy. Get it planted into it's new place quickly and keep it well watered but not soggy and don't fertilize it for the first week or so until you begin to see new growth. Then you can go to a regular feeding and watering schedule. When you replant them into the finished bed you do the same thing.

If you decide to pot them get big pots, make sure there are lots of drainage holes in them and take off any trays that are on the bottom of the pots. Only use good quality potting soil, not garden soil, in the pots. Regular dirt is too heavy and will not drain properly in a pot. Which means you'll have to pretty much bare root the roses. Do this by digging out the root ball and then very gently rinsing them with a hose until most of the soil is gone and then potting them up. Then do the same thing as with the ground planted ones, keep watered and wait to see new growth before fertilizing.

If you are going to use anykind of herbicide on those weeds and grasses I'd plant them and wait until next year to put them back so that the herbicide is completely gone from that new bed. Herbicides do nasty things to roses.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing pictures of your new beds and beautiful roses!

Thanks so much--this really helps! From what you've said, I think I'm going to try potting them up in big pots or totes with holes drilled for drainage, and then work as fast as I can to get the rest of the perennials out and the grass killed. Do you think they'd be ok in pots for a month if it stays cool? I'm going to have to prune several of them down significantly to move them--is a half or a third their original size too much?

You don't know how much I appreciate this--I haven't worked with roses before because our old garden was primarily shade, and I just don't want to stress the plants any more than I have to. As far as the schedule goes and beating the heat, I have no idea how to plan for the weather this year--at the rate we're going we may have full spring by the end of March (our last frost date is usually early May).

I don't want to use herbicide on the beds (I don't like using it at all), but I may not have much choice if I want to replant this year--ag extension said it could take most of the summer to kill the grass off with tarps--brome is tough stuff. If I do spray, it will probably be repeated applications of roundup, so I shouldn't have a problem with herbicide residue once everything is dead.

Thanks again--I'll be happy to post pictures when I'm done, or even before and after photos. I'm doubtful that it will look like much for a year or two, but I have high hopes after that. :)

Have you considered bare-rooting your roses? That is, washing off all the soil and planting them in pots of potting soil or a holding bed? I'm thinking that unseen bits of the very grasses you are trying to get rid off may survive in the soil around the roots of the transplanted roses, only to come back again, once planted back in the ground.

Rosefolly--that's what I'm afraid of--if I don't get the grass rhizomes out of the rose root system I'm going to have the same problem again by the end of the summer. If I wash off the roots while the plant is still dormant, and then repot temporarily in potting soil, that should solve the problem, right? How far can I safely cut the canes down when I do that? This is probably a really dumb question, but I'm guessing that I SHOULD NOT cut down the root system (except for broken or damaged roots) if it's huge? None of the bushes are massive, but they're big enough, and I have no idea how big the root ball will be. I've never tried to move a shrub before unless it was going directly into another spot, with the rootball intact, and the new hole already dug and ready to go before the plant came out of the ground. This is making me a little nervous--I just want to do my best not to kill them. Thanks!

One more question that I just thought of--we have very alkaline, heavy clay soil out here. I'll have the soil tested before I start, but my plan right now is to till in a thick layer of compost, peat moss and possibly sand once the bed is dead and before I plant. If I bare root the roses and plant in potting soil, am I going to have a problem with the roots not wanting to grow out into the surrounding soil once I replant? I was hoping the tilling and compost would break up the soil enough that it wouldn't be a problem, plus the plants have done well under really awful conditions (weeds and clay) so far, but I thought I'd better ask. You have no idea how helpful this is. Thanks so much for your patience and your advice!

Thanks so much! I'm glad to hear that someone else had to do basically the same thing and they (flowers and gardener) survived. :) I'm going to do more reading on exactly how to prune them down to move them, but I understand roughly what I need to do now. I also hadn't thought about saving rooted pieces of cane either--great advice. You've all been really helpful--thanks again!