Question
I need to move my grandmothers rose bush from my mothers place to mine.  The bush is at least 70 years old.  I am terrified to kill it.  I am in Edmonton, Alberta.  Can I move it this fall or do I have to wait till spring?  Should I hire someone to move it?  It is about 5 feet tall and about 5 feet around.  Please help!

Answer
The best time to move any rose is when it is dormant and not growing. In your area, the best time because of your cold winter, is in the spring when the weather warms up. Because this rose is important to you, take some cuttings right now and put them into a pot to make new roses just in case the move isn't successful. Here is how you go about taking cuttings to make a new rose bush. Make sure you take at least ten cuttings in case some of the them don't strike.
http://www.rainyside.com/archives/cuttings.html
In the spring when the weather starts to warm up, cut the old rose down to about 2 feet tall. Cut to the base any dead or diseased canes. Only leave about 5 green healthy canes as the damaged roots won't be able to support any more than that. Have the new hole ready and filled up with water to make sure the soil is very damp. Try and get as much of the roots as you can. The ones near the surface are the most important as the long deep ones are mainly to anchor the rose bush. So if you manage to break some, don't be concerned. You can't help damaging the frail feeder roots near the top but they will grow back in about 6 weeks to a couple of months. After planting the rose in the new hole, make sure you water it for at least two months to make sure the soil is damp but not soggy. Because the rose is very old it may not respond until late in the summer or even until next spring. Place a mulch all around the rose up to about 12 inches to make sure it goes through the winter. I should warn you that moving a very old rose is not always successful.