I'd prune them back to a manageable size then with the biggest pot you can handle and the biggest root ball pot them up in compost then keep them moist but not wet and sheltered or frost free,
if they have been in a greenhouse and show a lot of soft growth I'd harden them off before replanting in the prepared area then look after them carefully during the year.

using any sharp garden tool or shovel dig round the rose(till it looks like a mini mote around it) to a point where you think the root system ends then pull out. all you need is a large pot to store it in and keep it outside, the reason I stress mostly on the digging it out is because it could die of transportation shock that's the biggest problem.

And unless he specifically excluded them from the sale, they belong to the house and removing them can be construed as theft.

Crikey...Transportation shock, theft ???? whatever next? a capital punishment offence!!!!

It'll be fine, take Pamg's advice.

Never heard of "transportation shock". We plant 3,000 bare root roses every year....they have no soil on them and have often travelled half the length of the country.

Where do you get your pearls of wisdom from, WLB ?

OWB...i think you have to specifically include things IN the sale of a house, otherwise, everyone would be getting nicked for taking their carpets and curtains out

No, you have to EXCLUDE things in the sale. Carpets and curtains are included in furnishings which may be removed. Plants in pots are allowed to be taken ,but those planted in the soil are part of the 'fittings' and have to be excluded from the sale.
How would you like it if you went round a property and bought it because the garden was well stocked and then moved in to find that they had taken all the plants with them?

Owdboggy - in my experience most new owners will completely strip out all the old plants from a garden, so taking a few plants will save them from going in a skip and save both parties hassle.

owdboggy is correct. You have to say the plants you intend to take if they are in the ground. It is true that many new owners strip and chuck. but when we moved to our current property it was the garden that swung it for us. We specifically checked what was and wasn't included in the sale.

To be on the safe side I suggest you contact the new owners or their solicitor and explain you wish to take the rose bushes. Chances are they will not object, if they do you could offer to buy replacements for them.

Do you mean transplant shock WLB ? Ive just googled your suggestion and could only find TRANSPLANT shock.

However, with the utmost respect, we're dealing with 2 year old Roses here. I've just planted 25 bare root 'Rhapsody in blue'. They have been out of the ground for at least 2 weeks with not a speck of soil on them....it's how roses are supplied in some commercial situations, and has been for as long as i've been doing this job.

They'll be absolutely fine as long as they're not dug up or planted when the ground is waterlogged or is frozen.

Botanic. It does not matter what people do with the plants in a garden once they own the place, it is what the vendor does with them before completion that matters.
I know this one as we had to check very carefully about what we could bring here from our old place.

@owdboggy - I agree but have always been surprised by the ground zero approach of new purchasers, so your loved plant is likely not to be there long after you sell up. I do find that new owners are therefore not that interested in what you take.

We are all assuming the son in question sold their house and not someone who rented of course!

I have got into bother in the past by removing things that were not specified in the documentation, one was the door knocker as had sentimental value and I did substitute a less grand one (not appreciated), the water butts as they appeared in the photos by the agent so buyer assumed they woule stay and a hydrangia which had been a gift from my late mom. The buyers communicated with me via the agent and demanded some money but he told me as we had moved out to leave it but said technically I was not fully honouring the contract so it could be an issue I supect.

The law in England & Wales is that plants in the ground are part of the property unless specifically excluded. Scotland is almost certainly the same in this but your son's solicitor can confirm.
What the new owners intend to do once they move in is irrelevant. Discuss it with them - anyone half way decent buyer will understand and agree. A few words now could save a whole truckload of grief as a solicitor sees the ££££ adding up for threatening a dispute.

When we moved I potted up anything I wanted to take then made the point that all pots were going and all in the garden staying, it also meant that the newly potted plants had time to settle and when eventually at the new place could go in the garden at leisure......as we were waiting to move in for 3 months after completion it was one less thing to worry about (and Dad looked after them bless him)

"A few words now could save a whole truckload of grief as a solicitor sees the ££££ adding up for threatening a dispute"

Planting up in pots what you want to take with you is the way to go first but talking to the new owners asking to take a few things will normally be fine.

I very much doubt taking plants would lead to court action, if very irate then some irate solicitor letters but unless there was 'material damage' then the courts, even small courts, would be unlikely to proceed due to de minimis and cost. So an avenue of 60ft trees that removes privacy is material damage but removing a rose shrub is not. You can argue till you are blue in the face but this is reality.

oh dear I wrote it wrong... my apologies but I do think owdboggy was making a good point.

I potted all the ones I wanted to keep,before we even put our house up for sale,so no problem.My good neighbour offered to keep some pots in her garden till we moved,in the January,and they all survived after it being a harsh winter..It was at least April before we were able to make a garden (new build ,all rubble and rubbish) Some still flourishing..new owners got rid of a lot at our old house anyway,so I was glad I took some with me..If you know you are going to move house,be one step ahead,and make it one of the first jobs you do,to save any disputes that might crop up..

Quite right Bloomer and Pam - don't give the solicitors a chance to even start seeing the ££££ (speaking from the experience of the solicitor's add-on costs when a non-standard letter had to be written)...
Know how to speak a word in season!

Scottish Law is exactly the same as English/Welsh Law in this case. Unless it states somewhere that something growing in the ground is excluded from the sale then it is included. Friends of ours living just south of Edinburgh are in the process of putting their house on the market and already have their next house down in Galloway, all the, in the ground, plants they wanted to take with them were removed prior to the house being put up for sale.

To be honest all this arguing is unecssary I mean if I did have have a plant in my garden that I didn't plant originally I would still take it,by the time they realise I would of moved out and I bet they wouldnt care...

You would then risk being prosecuted WLB

Poor Annieb, must regret having opened your mouth!

It is sad but we live in such litigious times that someone, somewhere is probably preparing to instruct their solicitor on Monday morning.
Mind you, I would have been more than happy if my previous owners had taken their blasted privet hedge with them when they moved.

Same here Urbanite, we gained over a metre's width of garden when we removed... dreadful greedy things.

Oh Please don't say that Urbanite, I have just put in a Privet Hedge all around my garden to create a shelter belt.

Well I'd remove if it were me! Try a fence!

A privet hedge provides shelter for birds and other wildlife. Fences? Well they can be a problem too.

I think your garden is a bit bigger than mine, Taurman. And my privet hedge was best part of 10 ft high and over 4ft wide, while the front 'garden' is only 3ft. I chopped it down to about a foot in height, took all the green away and it has grown back, but at least I've kept it under 2ft for the most part. It will all go one day, when my bank balance is looking a bit healthier and I can find a blacksmith interested in making an iron railing.