I have a similar question - in late July (Ohio) when it is obviously not dormant I want to dig up my Desmond Tutu rose bush and bring it to my parents in humid, hot Houston. Is flying with it as a bareroot a possibility since it's growing season? It was a bareroot plant 2 years ago with bigger roots so keeping it potted in soil is not an option. It's alive and healthy but still relatively small compared to some of my others. I'd be flying with it so it will be faster than Fed Ex next day, would be same day (but adding time on both ends to dig up then plant, just like in shipping). I wonder if it will survive in my carryon suitcase without soil , since ice packs are not allowed due to the liquids rule. Maybe I should do a checkin bag for a larger bag and add ice packs. Maybe I can water liberally for a few days before, soak and wrap damp brown paper packing material around the roots? Cuttings are not in consideration since the rose is likely still under patent, and even if it wasn't, there is no time. I could dig it up tomorrow as my sister's passing thru from Ohio to Texas... but I'd have to go dig it up and I don't think her husband and her want to drive with a rose in addition to their kids, or care for it in Dallas till they can go to Houston. I guess no one can really say whether it will survive or not, wonder if I should take a chance or if it's too much of a hassle. Or Desmond can be the sacrificial lamb to see if this works.

Zack-- if you have fairly uniform, deep soil that is not sandy, water moves up from the deeper zones by capillary attraction to replace water being taken from the upper zone by the roots. In clay soil, this process could likely produce a better balance of air and water in the topsoil than too-frequent lighter watering. Roses use the same amount of water regardless of soil type. But in lighter soils or shallow soils it may be better to give this amount in more frequent, lighter doses. In clay or muck soils that drain slowly, heavier weekly watering might work better. But roses do take most of their water from the topsoil, moreso than typical plants, according to the limited research that has been done.

You all are awesome. I peeked more carefully at the salvias yesterday night, and despite their lack of impressive growth, they are still there and seem to have healthy foliage (for the most part). So, that much is good. I didn't know the orange oil drench could kill the plants, so it's a good thing I kept it away from the rose plant, and I guess I got off lucky with the salvia that I did pour it under. Someone asked how big my BD is, and it's about 2 feet x 2 feet right now. I would love to see it get twice that big, and hopefully in this second year, it will. All those are great ideas, and I even have a couple lime green sweet potato vines in pots right now that I should probably put into the ground if I want to keep them alive (I don't have a good track record with pots). Is there something I can add to the soil to encourage blooms on teh salvia? Are they maybe getting too much direct (afternoon) sun in the summer? I'm about to treat the rose with alfalfa tea next week and I suppose I could share that with the salvias, too.

It is a great site to get ideas isn't it? :-) Civil Servant my zone is so much different than yours that anything I recommend may not work in zone 5, but that site has a lot of ideas for different regional areas: https://www.gardenia.net/plant-combinations Some plants that I think look great with roses and also like colder weather (but don't do so well for me here we're its hot.. and I always covet them) are peonies and Johnson's Blue geranium. The blue/purple geranium trailing through the roses would look great with each color! I'm sure there are a lot of other ideas on that site too. :-)