[Ice]

I have inherited several rose bushes that seem to have been only partially pruned.  Some still have dead flowers on and others have been snipped at, but most are about four feet high.

What would be the best thing to do to them so they give a good display?  :happy:

[spottymint]

I would wait till spring & prune hard & feed well.

But don't take my advice, await a rose expert.

I did this to my sisters rose bush many years ago, about 5ft high, all stem & it flowered the best I had ever seen it flower (couldn't tell my sister that though.) 

[DD.]

Chop them halfway down now to lessen wind rock.

Around March, prune down to the lowest outward facing bud.

At least that's what my grandfather used to tell me!

[Ice]

Thanks, I've never grown roses before.  Lots more questions to come as the other plants come to life in the spring. :happy:

[mumofstig]

If they are old fashioned once flowering shrub roses, you may lose most of next years flowers if you prune them much now

I'd just give them a gentle haircut this winter, just taking out dead and diseased branches, until you know whether they are Hybrid Tea roses, which you prune hard, or shrub/bush roses which are treated more gently.

Sorry if that's not much help right now 

[Trillium]

I inherited some older ones like Peace and Queen Elizabeth. I wait until spring to prune them since they don't suffer wind rock like Brussel sprouts. Just try and pull out an established rose!

Come spring you'd need to cut down the main stem to about 6-8" tall and trim back short most of the side shoots. Sounds drastic but they need it. At the same time give them all a good rose feed, B&B meal and some composted manure, and watch for pests. A friend sprays her roses with sulphur spray which is still legal here and it really works.

[Ice]

I'll wait until spring then.  The more I see of the house and garden the more I realise the previous tenant had a lot of enthusiasm, but no idea about a lot of things.

[Kristen]

Chop them halfway down now to lessen wind rock.

Around March, prune down to the lowest outward facing bud.

That what I do.

This year I have removed every single leaf, and picked up all leaf litter, and burnt it.  With the wet season we had much worse Black Spot than normal, and I want to try to prevent any over wintering and attacking the roses next year.

[JayG]

The secret of avoiding black spot is to spray them early (as soon as the leaves start to open.)

I use Roseclear (I think - had it years!) and despite all the wet I only sprayed once - I won't pretend they stayed clear all year but it was autumn before it was really noticeable.

[ivor mace]

March is the best time, If you prune earlier the young shoots can get frosted or go blind. Cut out any dead wood, cut out any real weak stems and prune the rest at about a foot high to outward eyes. Try to get your bushes to grow into a goblet shape so they get light and avoid crossing branches which will rub against each other.

I would give some base fertiliser, something like blood fish & bone at 4oz per square yard and lightly fork into the top inch after pruning.

If you can mulch with about 2 inches of rotted manure, then they should do well. It will keep the weed seedling down and help conserve moisture.
Regards
Ivor Mace

[Ice]

Some great advice there, thank you all.  Looking forward to growing something other than veg. :happy:

[SG6]

Just to throw a spanner in the works. The RHS looked at rose pruning some years back, think they made 5 beds up.

One was left to just grow, no pruning, 3 were pruned according to different recognised regimes, the final one was "pruned" with a hedge trimmer as a level cut at 3 ft high.

The result was the most flowers and biggest were on the hedge trimmer bed. I recall they came up with several possible reasons/excuses why.

[Ice]

Well that's thrown a spanner in the works SG6.  Think I might lay off giving them a buzz cut and follow the above advice just for now. 

[bendipa]

If your roses are Hybrid Teas or Floribundas (most roses grown in domestic gardens usually are) I'd prune now while the roses are dormant and no frost around. Cut out all dead or diseased wood back to the crown. Remove any stems growing inwards and any spindly stems. If a stem is thick, old and woody remove them  using a saw. For the remaining greenish stems trim them back by 1/3 for floribundas always pruning to an outward facing bud. Same principle for Hybrid Teas except prune each stem to 1/2 its length.

[mumofstig]

If your roses are Hybrid Teas or Floribundas (most roses grown in domestic gardens usually are)

That's a debateable point  - the old-fashioned shrub roses have staged a real comeback and there are a lot of English shrub roses (from David Austin) about now