Um ... not to knock the Master Gardeners on this forum. But, the Master Gardener program does not necessarily produce experts. People do learn a lot of useful stuff in the program, but no one knows everything, and nothing beats both training AND experience. The Master Gardener program produces knowledgeable amateur gardeners who are willing to share what they've been taught by Extension agents from land grant universities. They help to dispel the myriads of gardening myths and legends that have no scientific basis, but my own experience with master gardeners over the years has not been very impressive, as far as getting correct information on gardening problems. Hit and miss. Point being: just 'cause the person saying so is a Master Gardener, doesn't make it so. And even when something may be so 95% of the time, doesn't mean it's so in this specific instance in your specific garden. Nature is complex, and our brains are puny in comparison. "most fungi are species specific". I do not know what that means. Hm. Yes, fungi come in species, but I doubt that's what was meant. Was the person talking about saprophytic fungi, or pathogenic fungi? Saprophytes are not necessarily host species specific. Some are, but others don't care where the organic matter they're feeding on came from. Pathogenic fungi vary in their degree of host specificity. A few are very specific, having been found causing disease on only one or two species of host plants. Phytophthora lateralis comes to mind. Causes Port Orford cedar root rot. Others have host species numbering in the hundreds or even thousands, such as Phytophthora cinnamomi, a globally distributed agricultural and forestry pest. Armillaria mellea (oak root fungus, armillaria root rot) also attacks just about anything. A saprophytic and pathogenic fungus, but does not cause disease on everything it eats. Some species of hosts are more susceptible than others. Roses are very susceptible. There's been some speculation that so-called Rose Replant Disease is caused by saprophytic fungi breaking down the dead roots from the previous rose, creating a toxic environment, but it's just speculation so far. Another hypothesis is that the decaying roots of the previous rose put out toxic chemicals. Again, just speculation so far. Either one may be true sometimes, but neither one has so far been proven true to my knowledge. I often replant in the same hole, and only rarely have a problem doing so. My own experience (25 years worth) has been similar to Patricia's. If the previous rose died for some reason, and that reason is still there, then it will kill the next rose too. Armillaria root rot is common in California. Roses are very susceptible. Roses replanted where armillaria killed the previous rose will die pretty quickly. As in, within a year or two. Not within weeks. Patience, my friend! I'd be hesitant to move a bare root rose that's just starting to grow, especially this late in the SoCal spring. (Here, sure. We're still getting snow flurries up here, no danger of the rose drying out when its roots are disturbed.) You can also help it out by hilling it, or piling dirt up around it, to insulate the canes and new sprouts from drying out. A good practice whenever planting bare roots in your area, as your springs come on fast and hot and dry. Carefully remove the dirt once you see good strong new growth emerging.

pam ... let me sum it up for you .... YOU DONT KNOW WHAT COLD IS .... lol it was 48F yesterday .... and last night down to 7F with a 25 mph wind.. -15F wind chill ... ground thawing one day ... enough to let the 6 inches of snow disappear .. no clay here ... and the ground frozen solid today ... QUIT worrying about dormant plants being.. what you call cold ... until you get below zero .. which most likely wont happen in z8 .. and if it does... YOU WILL HAVE A LOT OF OTHER PROBLEMS TO WORRY ABOUT .... other than your darn trees... lol ... 78 of 80 .. good work ... and perhaps it didnt register ... but forget about a couple hot days.. this time of year .... ambient AIR temp is not relevent .... its SOIL TEMP .... worry about a week long heat wave.. but a couple days ... most likely isn't going to warm the soil significantly .... as noted .... the wetter and colder the better .. subject to your hands aching from being too cold .... in spring.. if the soil is workable... and soil freezing is past .... its time to plant .... for me .. that is april in z5 .... i will still get frosts thru late may ... and maybe even a snow in april .... but the ground will not refreeze .. so again ... ambient air temp is not an issue with dormant trees .... a very hard late frost can be a problem .... but it isnt worth worrying about ... IMHO .... all you have to worry about .... is that bare root stock gets into soil or medium ... they are NOT to be left standing in water for too long .... TIMING IS EVERYTHING .. and mail order sources mail them at the proper time ... the good ones do anyway .. lol ... just get it done... good luck ken

Most folks advise potting them and planting in the fall, provided you generally are successful with potted plants. If you have several, you could simply plant one in the ground now and pot all the others, saving them for a fall planting. Then, you can definitely say you tried both ways and let us know from your own experience how they compared.

Since you plan to plant out your roses after starting them in pots, would think the type of soil you'll have in your garden at the new house is a key consideration. Will you establish beds at your new place with a blend of topsoil & compost or amend the native soil in some way to provide favorable growing conditions? In my experience, matching the container blend closely to the garden soil in which a plant will later grow is important, since a mismatch between the two can prove problematic down the line. Commercial "potting soil" substitutes peat moss as the growing medium for soil & is considered soilless. Plants growing in that can have a hard time expanding their roots into garden soil once transplanted & the original potting soil can continue to stay wetter or drier than surrounding soil for a good while until worms & soil organisms knit it into the whole. With your bare root roses, you'll mainly see anchor roots, as the finer network of feeder roots that grow from these are mostly lost in harvest & storage. Once planted, new feeder roots will develop from the anchors to multiply moisture & nutrient delivery. In a transitional pot intended for garden transplant, I like a slightly lighter version of the target site the plant will later occupy - a bit fluffier than the garden soil to maximize feeder root development & retard compaction of the planting mixture that can occur in a pot, but composed mainly of the same elements & textures of the final planting location, so a custom mix. When utilizing potting soil, I look for one with no fertilizer added or at most a slow release, but then I like to control what type of fertilizer & schedule, and generally give none to bare roots until they leaf out & in liquid organic form at that time to sidestep burning new feeder roots. Mixed thoroughly with quality topsoil & finished compost in equal parts, makes a good potting soil that can be further tweaked. Agree with nikthegreek about container size. Better to later pot up to a larger size if necessary when new roots have filled the pot than to have soil & roots fall away when you go to plant in the garden. Nursery pots are shaped to allow for easy transplant, can have the bottoms cut away, be supported beneath & placed in the planting hole & then have the pot sides cut way for minimal root disturbance. If using dark pots, slip them into light colored containers to keep them cool. Dark pots heat up quickly & can cook the roots. Potting bare roots this late, out of season, need to be careful the canes don't sunburn before leaf out, so the morning sun on your East facing porch should help until the foliage grows. If the humidity doesn't keep up, may want to mist the canes & new leaves with the mist setting of a watering wand to mimic moister air, or set the pots on large saucers filled with gravel & standing water below the top of the gravel which can evaporate moisture to the roses above. Have the impression your area is relatively low humidity usually? Turn the pots for leaf development as you would houseplants on a windowsill for even growth. Once they've leafed out, you may want to gradually give them more sun exposure till they get the same as where you plan to plant them. Most of the Austins here get morning sun from sunrise till 1-3 pm & do fine. If you find the growth stretching toward the sun even with turning the pots, that usually means they're wanting more of it. What an adventure for you - new roses, new home, new garden! Congratulations & enjoy the ride. (Just for the record, I'm in Nik's camp on rose potting for nourishment & endurance.)