I have grown trees and shrubs in all kinds of large containers (in zone 7), and what I've come down to is mostly using the best-looking "plastic" I can find (or resin or whatever it might be called). I do put them on dollies but I still need to be able to lift them. Oak whiskey barrels are virtually immovable when filled with soil and they do fall apart. But because the shape is so great, I have used some plastic whiskey barrels in certain locations, surrounded by some low plantings, or for veggies. A second option is to buy large square or rectangle teak or redwood (with integral casters or on a dolly) and use a cheap plastic container that fits inside. My father made several planters for me years ago and he shopped for inner containers from the array of plastic stuff like storage tubs and so forth that come in all dimensions. You can find specially-made liners at a higher price, though. When you shop plastic, it's interesting to note how some look more like something else (concrete, pottery) than others and so what I look for is ones that come the closest and/or are the least offensive replicas. Usually it's not the ones that try real hard, and terra cotta is the hardest to fake; some of the beige ones do better. So you can take a lesson from a book I read once on trying to dress well for less--you can't just always say, I want an inexpensive gray wool suit today. Instead, you have a feel for really nice fabrics, and then you look to see whether the inexpensive wool looks cheapo and a synthetic in a different color or weave might look more real, or maybe you had hoped to buy gray, but the black inexpensive wool looks much richer so you get that. So for containers, you go look at the good, real stuff and then you look at the fake stuff (now, I am using real and fake in terms of the problem of weight of the very large "real" containers, and to lesser extent cost) and you see which color and finish and shape do the best job of achieving the look you want.This could include containers that are obviously not pottery or stone--maybe a colored metal, or maybe a modern-looking synthetic, or it might be a very unobtrusive color that fades into the background--depending on your house style and the plants you intend to put in them. I have a few concrete planters that are small, and I love how they look now that they are moss-covered--definitely give the garden more of a sense of "age", and I'm keeping my eye out for how to achieve more of that--but they are in semi-permanent locations.

I was just reading an old post from last March about Melissa's move to Ohio. I'd be interesed to know how things are going in the new rose garden department Melissa as you enter your first spring in zone 5. Cheers, Rideau Rose Lad, aka Rick Here is a link that might be useful: Forum Link to Last Year's Post

Here are the promised pictures of the things moved- Lets start by showing the two shrubs moved. Fortunately they are not large shurbs but the guys had to do some work on the hill before they got planted. Now since the shrubs were out of the planter, two roses were moved in. Showing a longer view of the area of the front yard. The roses are the lighter colored ones in the second of the half round planters. Seeing it all from another view. A big empty spot in my sidyard rose garden from those roses that moved out front. And now here is the rose moved into the rear of the garage. Poor thing was looking the worst of everything that was moved. And here is the bigger empty spot were both Carefree Delight and the Gift used to be in my sideyard. They came even further out from those landscape blocks just put there now. You can see the dirt areas were things were dug up. It looks quite different along that area of the yard as when you stood here you used to see those big roses. Closeup of the area uptsairs with the moved Carefree Delight. Landscape shot of the bed upstairs including Carefree Delight. And thats it for the big rose moving project the other day. But I plan to move more roses. The bigger projects of the needed moves are my approx 5 foot tall Bonica shrub rose that is going to go in the third of the planter boxes in the front yard. That would be directly in back of the two Charles Aznavour roses there now. The next thing planned is to move my two Flower Carpet Appleblossom Roses, one into the back yard and the other repositioned from were it is now. They are not very tall but they spread out alot. The big deal will be tying them up and then lifting the spreading canes so they they can be dug because as they are now, you could not put a shovel thru them.

I couldn't handle seeing someone else growing any of my roses If it where me in your shoes Id do just about everything I could think of to bring em with me It's a fine David Austin rose I'd grab several cuttings even though off season and give that a shot as well I'd get a big pot and semi grow / store it in my garage or basment in both locations of befor and after move. Then site prep and ready for planting in early to mid spring of the hopefully potted one with cuttings as a back up. As a YIKES it's middle Januray move time. I'd go with the bare root idea if I negleted to do the other mentioned ideas perhaps as last resort and wait that out too ( like the big pot idea) I do tend to be an extremest with that in mind no one is going to give you bad advice. If your selling your home it might be a good idea to know the new parties regarding the rose(s) they may want it to be there even if this person is left unkown to you cut a piece off from a blind and mark it with it's name in sharpie and let that hang somewhere on the cane(S)where it can be found by the new parties place at least 4 of them where they can be found and on back include the webb addie to here ( any sissor will do for blind cutting tags and bread twist ties ) I admire your willingness in a win win situation