Viewing post #712774 by chelle

RoseBlush1 said:

...Modern roses store their nutrients in their canes rather than in the root zone during the period we think of as dormancy. In spring as temps begin to warm up, they are genetically programmed to push those nutrients down to the root zone.
Smiles,
Lyn

It's no wonder then that roses whose canes don't winter-kill (or get sheared away by rabbits ) bloom so much better than others! Thanks for this additional tidbit of knowledge, Lyn. I feel that I'm getting a much better idea of why roses do what they do.

I'm trying to hold off on moving any more until they're dormant...but we'll see. I won't transplant in spring; there's just too many factors going against it here...unless I can remove all of the sticky, gooey, thick and mucky clay ahead of time (like now) and just refill the holes with manure or compost at planting time. That might work.