Awwww, hugs to you Debbie! I too hated myself the day I repotted my tree rose. In fact I felt like bashing my head with my fists Both!!! times I dug up my Gemini. Once with a blazing ice storm (stupid, stupid, stupid! to have been planting it in early March) and again when I repotted mine to a larger pot. I lost 2/3rds of the feeder roots, the soil completely fell away; and 1/3 of the anchor roots and the tree tipped over 90 degrees while I struggled. I had to again call my neighbor over to help yank! it up again!!!! and readjust it to its final position. I was so mad at myself, but thank goodness for that Gardenville Sea Tea! The tree rose survived that horrific transplant. Yes, there are times when we have whoppers, but don't hate yourself. a broken cane will be replaced with new growth! Anyway, hugs! I can just imagine the horror when I have to dig up my young climbing roses from their pots! tranplanting from pots is really tough especially when the pots are too thick to cut. Stuff like broken canes easily happen!

Get pots large enough for the root ball. With own-root plants especially, it is important to get as much as possible. It will help with transplanting later on. 5-gallon nursery pots should be fine, larger if you can get them. If you want something more decorative, use plastic terra cotta-looking pots. 12" - 14" in diameter should be large enough. Hole in bottom, do not leave on the dish, the pots need to drain. Some of the plastic pots come with the saucers atteched, pop them off and use them for something else. Water them very well the day before digging them up and then water them well after potting them. They might droop a bit after potting, this is transplant shock and happens. Just don't let them dry out or get too wet. Good luck!

Ah, Spring fever. Oh, Spring fever. Ugh, Spring fever. Spring fever showed up a looong time ago here. Hee hee hee. Collected a lot of dried out leaves and plants. Pruned all kinds of plants. Threw away about 75 bags of trash during the last 2 months or so. Got rid of a bunch of roses last month and began adding mulch, amendments and coffee grounds here and there. Will do the "real" ferts later though. I did not have much choice. Hydrangeas have leafed out. Some oakleaf hydrangeas did not loose their leaves at all and look like they are about to open leaf buds in a few weeks. Azaleas have bloomed. Flowering Quince bloomed starting in mid January and has now leafed out too. Carolina Jasmine is blooming and Smoke Trees are leafing out. One apple tree is flowers but theother variety is still sleeping.Irises can peaking out too. If temps take a dive, I may have to replace a bunch of these guys!!!! But this warm time has been what happened the last 3 years. I do not know if this is climate change but it sure is way warmer than in my previous 40+ years here so I hope I do not end up having to replace trees and bushes.

Replanted in the fall, when the rose is completely dormant, into a 24 inch deep pot, would be ideal. Just trim off about an inch from the ends of the roots to stimulate new growth. A large pot means you won't have to repot again if it gets big. Keep the rose now out of the sun and put it where it only gets filtered morning sun. Never put this very old rose or a sick rose, in full sun. Older rose's roots ( as well as modern ones) shut down when it goes under stress such as high heat. This is how they save themselves. But the leaves don't shut down they continue to do their job. I know gardeners are fearful of wetting rose leaves because they believe it causes black spot but that has been disproven. It is the rose's hybridization that makes it get infected with one of the many kinds of black spot ,easier than other roses do. Wash the leaves off in the morning and they will dry off quickly and the rose will get water. All you can do is make sure the roots stay damp , not wet, as they are probably not functioning right now. No chemical fertilizes because this type is too harsh for an old rose. It is the rose fertilizer that you are using which is causing the tall, limp canes, it has too much nitrogen in it. Fish fertilizer is like chicken soup to an old or sick rose, or any type of organic will be softer on the plant. This is a VERY old rose and must be respected as a frail rose. All treatment must be gentle. Even being moved from where it was before you got it, is an ordeal for it because of the age.