It's probably OK to still prune it now if you do this right away. Mine are just starting to leaf out, so now flowerbuds have formed yet. I prune mine every year in late Feb or early March to about four feet high. They are fine and well-behaved shrubs. If yours have gotten so tall that there aren't any leaves or small branches down low, you probably do not want to prune them as low as mine. If you want them lower, you might try a series of successively lower prunings for the next several years, just cutting off some of the crown area where the leaves were last year. Perhaps that will force new leafy branches to form down lower so you can cut it a bit shorter the next year. I had one at a previous house that was turned into a really nice tree form, and I liked it that way. My neighbor bought one trained as a tree from the nursery, and it's nice looking, too. I'm planning to grow a new one from a cutting off one of my double-flowered ones and turn that into a tree eventually, with a single trunk.

Hi loriv, I can relate to them being sentimental to you. The picture I included shows ROS that started as 1 foot seedlings that I dug from my mother's yard when she passed away 16 years ago. I would go ahead and plant them now. It will give them some time to get settled before winter. Since you said there are 2-3 cuttings per pot, I wouldn't bother trying to separate them. I planted each of mine with 2 or 3 together. I would also pinch off the buds on the one so that it will devote it's effort into root production instead of flowers. Also, since Massachusetts gets a bit colder than here in Oklahoma, you will probably want to mulch them come winter. Be sure to keep them well watered until they go dormant for winter. BTG

answered you in the Trees forum.

Hmm I mean transplant shock can differ as far as how long it lasts etc. I'd keep it well watered..maybe add the root hormone to the water. I wouldn't fertilize just yet? If it needs to make roots, idk if that would be too much for it or if you do fertilize use something that has a really low number for the first number maybe? You could prune them some, nothing too severe but maybe a few canes to force it to want to 'grow' perhaps. Whatever you do I'd keep it well watered for a while, adding in the root hormone to help it along. And leave it alone, allow it time to recover esp where it wasn't really taken care of when it was yanked out and afterwards. Let it stay for this season and see what happens next spring.