It's better to leave the roots alone as much as possible to protect the feeder roots. If you get a nice, intact rootball and move it gently the rose won't even know that it has been moved. Now it a good time to do it especially if it is still cool out and your area has a rainy spring. The best way to winter protect a rose in zone 5 is to plant it 4-6 inches deeper than it was in the pot. That way you can protect the graft without doing any extra winter protection. Don't do any pruning in the fall as the cuts from pruning can make the rose more vulnerable to the cold. The chicken wire cage goes around the rose to hold in the mulch and stop rodents from eating the rose during the winter. The mulch then goes around the rose to as high as you want it. The more mulch you put in around the rose, the more green cane you will have in the spring. But you need to also consider how wet your winters and springs are. If the mulch is too wet then it can provide the right conditions for the rose to get canker. Canker is an infection of the rose that occurs mostly in damp spring conditions. I no longer do any winter protection on my roses because I lost more cane to canker than to the winter cold. As for your transplanted rose, it will be fine. Keep watering it every day or every other day for the first week and every few days after that and it should recover.

Hi again, There are a couple of possible issues here. Spraying anything in warm, dry weather has the potential to burn foliage. Be sure to DEEP water the day before spraying anything or giving any sort of drench. Spray in the early morning or evening when the day is coolest. Spraying Neem or other 'organic' insecticides can also burn foliage in hot weather because they contain oils. Your roses will have aphids every spring. I promise! Spring = aphids. Aphids are best controlled by squishing (very satisfying to the gardener) or blasting with a strong stream of water from a garden hose (more effective). Treating aphids with insecticide is a mistake, it sets your roses up for infestation by spider mites and spider mites are MUCH more difficult to kill. Aphid damage is cosmetic, they don't really harm your bushes. Since you've already used pesticide, relax, you won't automatically have spider mites but for heaven's sake don't use any more pesticide on your roses. I'm thinking that you used fungicide because yellowing leaves with spots sounds like blackspot. In central Texas you won't see BS on Knockout roses. Maybe some wimpy rose like Iceberg or Lagerfeld would BS in Texas but not Knockout. Your humidity level is too low and your summers are too hot. I think your roses defoliated due to spray burn. How can you best help your poor naked roses? Water, water, water. Your roses should be deep watered twice a week to grow & bloom nicely. Any week that you receive two inches of rain, don't water. If it rains less than two inches a week in summer, water. If it rains less than an inch a week in fall, water. Water, water, water. You have several chemical products formulated for roses in your garage and your Knockouts don't need them. Go to the garden center and buy a hybrid tea rose so you have a rose to nurture. You sound like a very nice person and you truly want to care for your roses but Knockout only needs water.

A 15-gallon pot is likely to be 18" across & nearly as high. If concerned about water stains from a pot standing on deck or balcony, you might pick up pot feet as an alternative to a wheeled dolley. They fit under the bottom rim to raise the pot, run a couple of dollars each & you'd need four for a pot that size. Usually found with the pots outside, as they also keep a pot from freezing to a bottom surface & cracking. Often use them & just slide a saucer beneath for water to drain to which can be emptied & removed in between waterings. Might consider using a few inches of mulch atop the soil to keep it cooler & delay moisture evaporation (kept from touching the stems) & pine straw for that is fine. Also keeps soil from splashing out in watering or rain. The potting mix you used contains slow-release fertilizer, but as others have noted, you'll need quick-release fertilizer for pots as well. The rule of thumb is "weakly, weekly" meaning fertilizer diluted in water at 1/4 the concentration on the bottle for monthly feeding, given weekly by pouring on soil already moist. Some of the fertilizers are very salty & can build up a residue on top of the soil & interior of the pot. Prefer fish emulsion myself. What a romantic gesture from your boyfriend! Sounds like he's a keeper, just like your rose... Here is a link that might be useful: General soil capacity pot sizes

I bought a KO about a month ago. I was in a rush and put the pot in with my planted roses. I totally forgot that I even bought it (never mind water it). A couple of days ago I remembered not planting it and even though the pot was dry as a bone, that little rose was blooming it's heart out. I sure hope it survives z5b winters because I can truly say it survives drought conditions. Marilyn