Oh, we have roses that have been moved 3-4 times.

In your climate, you can do the deed any time after Thanksgiving, through maybe late February.
Keep as much of the root ball intact as possible.
I'd say keep the plant well-watered after the move, and don't feed it until after the first flush of bloom has come and gone. They should be fine.

Jeri

I don't know about the timing. I'm in zone 6 and the ground is frozen solid here in Dec/Jan so we don't move anything. I can tell you that the key to moving them when ever you do so is water. Decide where you want them and dig and prepare your holes first. Water the holes well and make sure they are draining well. Water the roses well the day before you move them. Dig as big a root ball out as you can and keep it intact as much as possible during the transfer. When you get it planted how you want it in the new hole water again. Keep it well watered but now drowning for at least the first week. Don't fertilize until you see new growth begining. Hope this is helpful and I hope someone from a warmer zone will chime in about the timing thing. Good luck!

FJ.

You ask a good question. You ask a question that many of us have asked ourselves on this forum. To that end you might also do a search for 'transplanting roses' and you will be blown away by the threads with that topic or words to that effect.

The advice above is great. I can tell you that the last rose transplant my DH and I did was truly unkind. Not intentionally, I just did not keep a close enough eye on my husband who basically yanked Mary Rose out of the ground before I started paying attention and guiding him on how it should be done! My rose recovered well and really, roses are tough. As long as you exercise some care and keep it well watered after moving you will be fine.

Hope this helps.

Kate

Thanks all for the advide.

I guess my question was how hide and deep I should dig the root ball?

Thanks
FJ

As wide and deep as you can handle. The bigger the rootball, the less stress and faster recovery.

If you have a tarp you can roll it onto that and just drag it to the new location. Rootballs can be pretty heavy. Protect your back. You can replace your rose more easily than you can fix your back.