Harmony, I'm no expert. And had I known you were going to ask this question, I likely would not have done the areas in my garden that I did, and I would have waited for experts to answer. LOL.

Here is my experience; take it for what it's worth (nothing much). My Climbing Eden, 2 years old, canes taller than I am (5'7") had a ginormous root system. It was growing in a very large pot, and very happy in it...but I swear. All the dirt in the pot came with the rose on it's trip across the yard, because of the serious root system that one had. I am thankful I managed to save the majority of the root system - all the big ones for sure, and many of the little webbie feeder roots - and was able to get her secured into her new home.

Compare that to the Midas Touch I transplanted today. It did not have much of anything...it was literally light in my hands, most of the dirt fell off (I imagine because it's little roots weren't terribly prolific), and it was "easy" to do.

So, in my nanosecond of experience, I'd say that climbers do have a bigger root system, and more feeder webbie things.

Now, wait for those who actually know what they're talking about. LOL.

Best-
Herding Cats

If you cut the root ball back when you dig them out you may need to cut the canes back as well so there is more balance between their sizes. A smaller root ball won't be able to feed as much cane length right away.

I would truss up the canes so they won't flop around and break before you dig them up. Once dug up lay them down gently on a tarp and move them that way. When you have the new caged holes ready for them stand them back up into the holes and plant them firmly. You may want to stake them temporarily when you first plant them to give the toot systems a little time to take hold in the soil so they won't rock in any winds. Keep them well watered and I'd hold off on fertilizing them until you see some new growth starting.

Hope everything goes smoothly for you!

I've moved way too many roses, climbers included , in my garden; seems like every autumn we have a bout of "musical roses" game. So, though I don't consider myself an expert, I take the liberty to respond.
One reason I hate moving climbers is that experience has taught me that it is much, much better to prune them back pretty drastically if you move them (reducing the canes to about 1-2 feet tall), so then you have to wait a couple seasons for them to grow back to what they were.In one or two cases I've managed to move them leaving some long canes, but cutting them way back is much more fool proof.To me it seems that, no matter how big a root ball you manage to conserve when digging the plant up,the roots inevitably undergo a shock on being moved,and they find it very hard to send out the vital energy,lymph or whatever, all the way up long canes.Instead, if they only have short canes to "maintain", they can concentrate themselves on re-establishing, settling down in the new spot, and re-growing themselves in the first year after the move. Then in the following year, the plant can start to grow again vigorously.Now, that's just my two cents.Keep in mind that my garden is far from my house, in a wild place, with no running water,so I can't pamper my plants really.So I'm certainly NOT saying that I think that Seil is "wrong"!!! I'm just saying that I have found that cutting them back rather severely, IN MY SITUATION, has been more reliable. regards to all, bart

Thank you guys so much for your input. They are against a cyclone fence, and fortunately they aren't being moved - just dug up, then hole caged, then set back in. So - I think I can leave them upright. I have some canes tied to the fence, and I'll losen those way up so they have movement to move quite a lot, but still have some stability from breakage. And as always, I'll collect all the info I gather here, and ultimately use my gut for what is happening and what I see. But you have confirmed that it is more intensive moving a climber. I'll be interested to see what the root structures look like. These guys are too beautiful to lose.

I was threatened within an inch of my existence by Mr. Flaurabunda when we moved Harlekin this summer. I shouldn't forget to mention that we did it in the 100+ heat wave, against all sane advice.

We dug as big of a root ball as we could, tipped her fully trussed up canes over on her side, wrapped her in a heavy sheet, and still nearly pierced ourselves silly. Ended up getting out wire cutters and hacked apart the trellis since nothing was going as planned.

We tented Harlekin with a sheet to protect her from the heat. I was greedy & didn't cut the canes back. She sat dormant & angry for 5 weeks, and finally showed signs of life after losing 2/3 of each cane and all of her leaves. I should have pruned the canes back & will never try this again unless it's spring.

But my memory is very short so I'm fairly certain I'm doomed to make this same mistake over & over.