Question
Help! I was unaware of how big my gorgeous girl would get. I planted her in very bad spot up against my house and I fear she'll eventually tear up the foundation. Without pruning she grows to well over 30 feet tall. She's torn down a trellis and she since is resting comfortably on a steel arbor bolted to the brick wall. I've never had the heart to get rid of her and wanted to find a good home for her. I just saw pics of the Tombstone Lady Banks and OH MY GOSH!!!!!! My poor girl has GOT to go. I've found a home for her. A neighbor fell in love with her when she saw her a few weeks ago in full gorgeous bloom. I guess my question is, how in the world am I going to get her out safely without hurting her or her roots and tearing up the foundation of my house. I understand we'll wait until dormancy this fall but I have NO clue how to go about it. How far do I cut her down for transport and the roots will have to be cut as well. How big is the root system at this point? She's about 5 years old and has a trunk about 10 inches around. Any suggestions?
Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Lara

Answer
Lady Banks can take a lot of cutting and digging so I would be more concerned about you getting hurt when you try to get Lady Banks out!! Lady Banks, even though she is only five years old, will have a good root system on her. But roses have two types of roots, deep one for anchors and ones below the surface as feeder roots. So if you don't get all the deep ones out it will still survive. Also you can cut these rose canes right down to stubs and it will come back with a bang. That is, provided the new owner waters, waters, waters her for at least the spring and summer. I would cut the rose back to where the new smaller canes are coming from, say about three feet if possible, as this makes it easier to handle in transporting and then tackle the roots. You never know, the roots my come out easily than you think. Cut around the base of the rose in a 3 foot circle when you encounter roots past that simply take the clippers and cut them off. The rose in the new home may not bloom for a year and may sulk and look droopy. Tell the new owner to just ignore Lady Banks as she is in a snit as all roses hate to be moved and simply continue on with the watering. A mulch of any kind is also a good idea as roses do better with cool, damp roots. DON'T give the rose dry fertilizer, give it watered down liquid fish fertilizer monthly to help the roots. Be sure to video this performance!

Lady Banks is a very vigorous rose and so needs a large roots system. If your cement is just the usual home strength, than the roots could buckle it. Because you probably won't kill her, especially if the move is done in the fall, it might be a wisdom to give her a new home or a new place in your garden. To be honest with you, although this is a beautiful rose when it blooms, it is a rose that looks best when cascading over a farm fence well away from the house. I grow rose on an acre of land but would discipline myself not to grow this rose no matter how much I wanted her. She is a rose you admire in other people's large gardens.