Can anyone please tell me when the best time is to transplant a rose bush to a different location? Is it too late now...wait till spring? Thanks, E.
Whenever you transplant any plant it experiences a certain degree of transplant shock. The ideal time to transplant is before the buds open in spring or after the leaf fall in autumn. I guess it is already pretty cold in your area, and transplanting now is not your best option; best to wait till spring. If your rose is not sufficiently hardy enough to withstand the winter cold in your zone, you should already have taken measures to provide it with some form of winter protection, I hope.
Roses a very hardy and can handle quite a bit of neglect. Transplanting roses when they are dormant probably disturbs them the least. I have planted over 1,000 roses, and transplanted probably 350 with very little loss. Some of the strongest and oldest roses can be found growing in very old or abandoned cemeteries.