Question
I have what I believe to be a garden rose that is 15+ years old.  I would like to transplant it because it is growing in a shared fence line that is overgrown with tall grasses.  It has what looks to be several offspring up to 4-5 feet away from the original bush.  I tried to dig up one of these offspring but it has a large root that I believe leads to the original rose.  Any suggestions on how to move this bush without causing irreparable damage? Also, what can I do with the offspring canes after the main bush is transplanted?

Answer
First have the new hole ready before moving the rose. The night before you move the rose, cut the rose  back about 2 feet and then cut out any dead canes of those that are thinner than a pencil and water it well. You can't help damaging the root system when you dig the rose out and pruning the rose bush back means the roots don't have as much growth to cope with. Plant  right away firming the soil around the base with your feet, place some sort of mulch around the base to keep the new roots that will grow cool as well as the older ones and then water, water, water. Never mind if the rose  looks droopy, just ignore the fact it is in a snit from being disturbed and keep watering. If the sun gets too hot and makes the leaves droop, then throw wet material over the top of the bush. The reason that transplanted roses die is because digging them out has damaged or even killed the feeder roots which do the job of taking up the nutrients and water to the rose canes. Now you have to do the job for at least a couple of months until the new ones have grown and can do the job as before. Don't give the transplanted rose any fertilizer as it can't take it up as it will have damaged roots and be under stress. Also chemical fertilizers can burn the new roots when the summer gets hot. Wait until next spring when it start to show growth. Sometime roses when they have been transplanted in  gardens that get a hot summer, may not perk up until the middle of the summer.
In regards to the suckers from the main bush. Take a shovel and jump up and down on it to cut the roots off that are leading to the main bush. Then cut the suckers back to about 2 feet and plant as you would a new rose bush. If this rose is very important to you then I would take some cuttings off it and start them as new plants. That way if the rose doesn't make the transfer you will have a few new ones.
http://www.rainyside.com/archives/cuttings.html