Question
We live in central South Carolina and have a Lady Banks that we would like to transplant. Three years ago, it was planted close to our house on a trellis and it bloomed well. Space was an issue and now we have a fence where it has more freedom to run, so we'd like to move it. Please  give tips on when to transplant, how to prune when transplanting and soil conditioning. Thanks!!!!!

Answer
The ideal time to transplant any rose is when it doesn't know you are doing it and that is when it is dormant. Late fall or early spring are the two best times to move your rose.
So have the new hole ready before you do anything . In my opinion, if a rose has grown well in your natural soil, it really doesn't need any amendments in the new hole. But if you feel your soil is not good then you can add a some well rotted manure or just a bag of steer manure and a cup of bonemeal. Cut the rose back hard, about a third and remove any dead or very thin, frail canes coming from the base. Dig up as much of the root ball as you can. If possible move the rose when it is cool in the evening. Don't worry about making a mistake as Lady Banks will forgive you and come back with vigour. The main reason transplanted roses don't survive is because gardeners don't water them enough. Transplanting a rose will always put it into semi shock and then the roots don't function well. Making sure the soil is damp, but not soaking wet, keeps the roots from dying out until they can function at their best. The long rots are mainly the anchors but the tiny, little white roots ( lots near the op) are called the feeder roots and these are the roots that normally keep the rose alive. When you dig a rose up you just can't help but destroy most of these type roots so you will have to wait about 6 weeks for them to grow back. Therefore keeping the soil damp encourages and gives the right situation for them to grow again. Don't give the rose any fertilizer as the roots won't be able to take it up. Wait until you see new growth coming back and then give it a couple of handfuls of any rose fertilizer or better still, liquid fish fertilizer..