Had to pick between saving my heirloom roses or my neighbor's new fence

Last spring in Portland my neighbor told me he was putting up a cedar fence right along the property line. Problem is my grandmother's climbing roses have been growing on that exact spot for 40 years. I had two choices: let the fence crew rip them out or pay $340 to have a landscaper come move the whole root ball to the other side of the yard. I went with the move because those roses bloom pink and white every June and I couldn't stand the thought of losing them. The landscaper showed up at 7am and spent four hours digging a huge trench around the roots. Two of the main canes snapped during the lift and I honestly thought I made a mistake. But three weeks later new shoots came up from the base and now they're climbing a trellis I put near the back porch. Have any of you ever moved a mature plant like that and had it survive? The fence looks nice but I still catch myself checking the old spot every morning out of habit.

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sethc1419d ago

Honestly I used to be one of those people who thought plants were replaceable, but watching you put that much effort into saving something your grandma grew kinda flipped a switch for me. Forty years of history is not something you just let a fence crew bulldoze over, even if it costs you a few hundred bucks and some broken canes. Glad the stubborn thing pulled through, that trellis setup sounds way better than staring at a fence line every morning anyway lol.