Question
I have 4 small rose bushes that have been in the ground for 4-1/2 years.  I want to move them to a different place in my landscape just because I want them closer together.  It is now April first, and I live in zone 7 which is unseasonably warm right now.  I pruned them all about a month ago, and they are responding with lush foliage, though none of the roses have buds yet.  Am I too late to move them?  Since I have had them 5 years I surely don't want to lose them.  I know transplanting can be traumatic to any plant.  Any advice you can give is appreciated.

Answer
Careful treatment of these established Roses will most likely cause only minor setback, Penny.  Transplanting is traumatic, yes, but since you clearly know what you're doing, I suspect you will be quite careful with that breaking foliage and new Rose roots.

Take as much of the root ball as you can for each, and make sure the new venue is able to accommodate that root ball with as little disruption as humanly possible.

Pick a cool day if you don't have to wait too long for that.  Make sure however it is not a wet day -- moisture will wreck the soil structure, which is a recipe for disaster in this case.  Talk about trauma.

Make sure there's lots of Bone Meal in the soil to give the roots everything they need to get settled.  Don't spray for fungus -- fungicides wipe out soil mycorrhizae which generate steady, healthy doses of Rose vitamins and minerals.  Ease the pain.

Sure, it's not a perfect situation.  But it's early in the season and there's plenty of recovery time before those blooms start busting out all over.  Everything is relative.