Why did I not think of that!

I have a Knockout Rose that I need to move to a friend's house. It's really big after four or so years, never being pruned. It's around four to five feet wide and tall.

We would like to divide it into TWO bushes, i.e. dividing the rootball in half.

Is this possible with Knockout roses?
Does anyone have any suggestions?

We plan to move it around September, if that's a good time.
I thought I should prune it fairly heavily first, to reduce it's water needs.

I've read that, when moving trees, you should cut 1/3 to 1/2 the roots the year before. Would it help any for me to cut some of this rose's roots a month or so before I cut the rest during the move?

I'm afraid that the roots may have gone so deep and spread so wide that I'll have to cut a lot of them to get it out of the ground.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I've never moved a rose, bush, shrub or tree.

I've moved many roses before (usually getting them off of Craigslist/Freecycle or because I planted them wrong) and with older bushes.. yikes! The root system is usually quite extensive, but in a knarly mess. But they're not TOO horribly all over the place. I moved some roses that were over 20 years old and their root balls were about the size of a 10gal bucket and were not deep at all, only about 18-24" deep. But they didn't spread hardly at all, not like a tree. And I've moved many trees, too. I've never heard of cutting the roots off. As far as dividing, I have NO idea. I haven't divided ANYTHING before, which I *really* need to do with some of my salvias!! Definitely prune it before replanting it... that's pretty much with almost every rose I think. And I didn't think that Knockouts got that big. I've seen them about 3-4' wide, but never that tall. I can take pictures tonight of some of the mother plants I got from Cliff when EuroDesert closed down.. they didn't survive a freak freeze we had in '12. But I have this image here that shows a well developed rootball on a motherplant.

Unless the rose has more than one trunk - is essentially two or more roses - you will not be able to divide it. You can, however, grow new roses from root cuttings if you like; Knock Outs are normally grown on their own roots.

One of my Rainbow Knock Out roses grew too big for the space I had given it, so we pulled it out with the tractor, using a chain looped around the trunk. Gulp..I know, brutal. The trunk split apart. I went ahead and planted both halves, and they both grew! Then...some unnoticed roots left in the original spot grew back also!
I dug out that rose, and you guessed it, the next year, another one grew in the same spot. I left it there. It was that determined, so it earned it.
It now grows through the Amur maple tree above it, and covers the poor little Charlie Brown minis that were in front of it.
Good grief, Charlie, Brown!

Thanks very much, guys! I'll have to crawl under it to check out the trunk. I'd be afraid to deliberately cut the trunk in half.

I'll certainly collect as many root fragments as i can, and start them in a variety of places (or maybe pots) and see if any come up, probably to be given away. Or I might replace some Lavatera.

My friend might have to settle for one big rose bush on one side of her door, and several babies on the other side. Heavy pruning of the big guy and encouragement of the little ones might balance them after 3 years or so!

Any suggestions about how to prune a huge bush by a lot? I mean, like, 50% or more.

I figured that I would shear some length off each branch (just reduce the perimeter and height of the bush by 8-10") plus try to reach inside and try to remove a few branches near the trunk, to "open it up" a little.

Rick - Well, one time I accidentally "pruned" a rose with a weedwacker, but I wouldn't recommend that method to be honest. Can you take a pic of it? I'd go inside the bush & cut about 1/4 of the canes down to the dirt if there's a ton of canes (10+), the rest I'd prune about 1/3 - 1/2 down depending on size. Make sure that you wear long sleeves & your pruners are VERY SHARP. I'd also have some bleach wipes handy, too, just in case.

>> Can you take a pic of it?

Tonight! I have some distance shots from June 2013.

Hmm, if there are many canes, I probably COULD nibble some of those off the rootball and give Becky something for both sides of her door.

I did give thiss plant the very best soil I could contrive. When I bought a few yards, I had them dump it into a deep pit I had dug here, then moved about half that soil to other beds. What was left here, I amended further. Note the 18" tall sidewall. I imagine that provides great drainage and aeration despite the clay nature of the soil.

Looks like a very happy plant!

It grew and grew and grew! It took over that whole bed, and I kind of wnat it back for vegetables and cut flowers. I have so few sunny spots!

Really, I wanted "rose-shaped blooms" that would last in a vase as cut flowers. The Knockout seems to be a gorgeous, carefree bush, but not my favorite blooms.

Mr. Lincoln is a good one for a red rose in a vase. Very classic shape, classic rose scent, classic red color.. what can I say, it's classic!

But this Knock Out.. holy mackerel. I agree w/ PPal, it's a VERY happy plant!

I'd definitely winnow inside & chop out at least 1/4 of the canes to the dirt, then give the rest a 1/3 - 1/2 hard prune. It's gonna look so sad, but it'll be much easier to transport.

I agree about Mr. Lincoln. My first plant since High School was a Mr. Lincoln that my SO let me plant alongside her driveway ... must have been in the mid-1980s.

I guess I water and fertilize all around it, more than most of my beds, to indulge vegetables and cutflowers, so it gets everything it could desire. Clearly, this plant does not mind being spoiled! Most likely, the very-deeply amended / replaced soil and deep aeration/drainage are conducive to growth.

I think I'll hold off on the heavy stem pruning until the current wave of blooming has subsided a little. Then go to town on it!

Maybe I'll bundle all the cut branches and plunge them into soil somewhere, or an oft-watered compost heap, just to see if branch cuttings ever root.