Moving a LARGE rose bush any tips?

[21hens-incharge]

I need to relocate a large rose bush to make room for a small patio area.

It is a knockout rose that has been happily growing in its very sunny spot for over 10 years.

It is rather large at about 5' tall and branches out in a 6' circle. The main base is about a foot in diameter.

I know step one is to prep its new spot.

I am not sure if I should cut it back severely.
With my soil I am pretty sure it will bare root itself as I try to dig it up. That worries me some.

Maybe I should try to tie the branches in and wrap it in a blanket so the big horns are controlled?

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

I don't do more gardening than pulling up a few weeds, but I'll bump this thread.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I don't do more gardening than pulling up a few weeds, but I'll bump this thread.

Thanks.

This will be quite the prickly challenge.

I would just remove it except it is covered in beautiful blooms all summer and I actually am rather fond of it.

 

[janiedoe]

My husband has a green thumb, sadly I have a black one. He moved 3 extra large rose bushes to our new home from our old one several years ago. All have flourished. One was a large knock out rose. He did exactly as you described, trimmed, loosely wrapped branches and carefully dug around the root ball. Here is a picture of the knock out from later that same year.

Good luck!

 

[arkansas_ash]

We have two Knockout rose bushes. It's still fairly early in the spring season so you should be able to safely move it. We've moved plenty of shrubs and even trees in our lifetime with success.
You can tie up the top as you'll need to take a shovel and slice down at least one foot from the shrub, all round the plant. And yes, you can prune first to get the bulk of branches out of your way if it is overgrown.

We recently pruned our Knockouts (in late Feb.) back to about 14 inches and they are already full of reddish green leaves waiting to grow.

Remove any soil in that is towards this side of the shovel to allow removal of soil as you cut around the plant, forming a ball that will have most of the root system. You will end up cutting through a few roots, especially the bottom side of the root ball. You may need a pick and or a crow bar to help break up under the plant. It's like removing a loose tooth as you keep shoveling around the base, which you can push the plant back and forth to test how loose it is and see what roots are still attached that go deep down. You can cut these with the shovel or use loppers or pruning sheers.

Eventually it will come loose, and you can place it on a tarp to drag it or lift it where you want it to go. Prune cleanly any root ends that are ragged or damaged. After you plant it, you can do any final pruning if it needs any. Water.

 

[21hens-incharge]

My husband has a green thumb, sadly I have a black one. He moved 3 extra large rose bushes to our new home from our old one several years ago. All have flourished. One was a large knock out rose. He did exactly as you described, trimmed, loosely wrapped branches and carefully dug around the root ball. Here is a picture of the knock out from later that same year.
View attachment 2603561
Good luck!

Do you recall about how far he cut it back?

I am worried about cutting to much off.

 

[21hens-incharge]

We have two Knockout rose bushes. It's still fairly early in the spring season so you should be able to safely move it. We've moved plenty of shrubs and even trees in our lifetime with success.
You can tie up the top as you'll need to take a shovel and slice down at least one foot from the shrub, all round the plant. And yes, you can prune first to get the bulk of branches out of your way if it is overgrown.

We recently pruned our Knockouts (in late Feb.) back to about 14 inches and they are already full of reddish green leaves waiting to grow.

Remove any soil in that is towards this side of the shovel to allow removal of soil as you cut around the plant, forming a ball that will have most of the root system. You will end up cutting through a few roots, especially the bottom side of the root ball. You may need a pick and or a crow bar to help break up under the plant. It's like removing a loose tooth as you keep shoveling around the base, which you can push the plant back and forth to test how loose it is and see what roots are still attached that go deep down. You can cut these with the shovel or use loppers or pruning sheers.

Eventually it will come loose, and you can place it on a tarp to drag it or lift it where you want it to go. Prune cleanly any root ends that are ragged or damaged. After you plant it, you can do any final pruning if it needs any. Water.

WOW! Cutting it back to14" is farther than I expected to be safe. That's a relief!

It will certainly make it less painful lol. They have some serious thorns.

I will definitely try and get it done this week so it's not in full grow mode.

Maybe a good dose of quick start will help it once I get it moved.

 

[janiedoe]

He cut it back pretty low to the ground, however it was in the fall. I don't know weather that would have any effect on it as our falls are still pretty warm here.

 

[arkansas_ash]

Hi 21 Hens in Charge,

I hope I've quoted you, as it's not showing up in my reply to you.

Yeah, I thought that 14" would be a shock to some. My husband used to work for an arboretum and does a great job of pruning our different types of roses and fruit trees. I do a terrible job, on the other hand and just don't understand it all.

The Knockouts are a vigorous growing shrub type rose and we know of two places (our local Human Society and my husband's Aunt) that have them and they never prune theirs. When we come for a visit, Auntie always asks my husband to prune them as they start to get too tall in front of the kitchen nook bay window area. The ones at the shelter look scraggly.
They will keep producing blooms, but just not as many if you prune them back every couple of years. These shrubs can easily outgrow their area due to their fast growing nature. We prune ours annually. I did a search for Knockout rose pruning and the one website I found said to prune them back to 12". That sounded like too much. You should always prune to what type of plant you are pruning and how well it is growing in your neck of the woods. Like I mentioned, ours were pruned and they already have loads of leaves shooting out.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

Hi Nuttier than a squirrels stash,

I hope I've quoted you, as it's not showing up in my reply to you.

Yeah, I thought that 14" would be a shock to some. My husband used to work for an arboretum and does a great job of pruning our different types of roses and fruit trees. I do a terrible job, on the other hand and just don't understand it all.

The Knockouts are a vigorous growing shrub type rose and we know of two places (our local Human Society and my husband's Aunt) that have them and they never prune theirs. When we come for a visit, Auntie always asks my husband to prune them as they start to get too tall in front of the kitchen nook bay window area. The ones at the shelter look scraggly.
They will keep producing blooms, but just not as many if you prune them back every couple of years. These shrubs can easily outgrow their area due to their fast growing nature. We prune ours annually. I did a search for Knockout rose pruning and the one website I found said to prune them back to 12". That sounded like too much. You should always prune to what type of plant you are pruning and how well it is growing in your neck of the woods. Like I mentioned, ours were pruned and they already have loads of leaves shooting out.

You didn't, but it's ok, @21hens-incharge