How do I turn unruly roses into nice plants?

I recently bought a home thats garden had obviously been a sight to see, in its day. Now its more than a little run-down and abused. Bit by bit we are taking care of it all. My next process is the roses. There are 6 or so bushes along the back fence. They are HUGE and overgrown and completely taking over the yard. Its looking a bit like a horror movie.


From what I can tell, they look fairly healthy, and they are blooming right now. I want to keep them, but I want to cut them back A LOT. I have read up on pruning rose bushes (i've never had roses before) but all of the advice i've found applies to bushes that have been taken care of routinely. What is the best method to downsize these things without hurting them terribly?

How do I turn unruly roses into nice plants?
I think it's teriffic that you're wanting to learn about roses! You can make those older unloved roses look like the ones on the garden sites, I promise!





You want to go to the hardware store and get a rose clipper (they look like a blunt side on one and a sharp one on the other). Don't use scissors, or you're going to crush the stems, and you want the stems to go because you want to have the beautiful flowers. You are going to also want to get a pair of thorn-resistant gloves. Spend a little more and get the good ones, your fingers will thank you.





First cut off all of the "dead" wood, the brown, icky pieces. Then dead head the flowers. Cut all growth that doesn't have buds down to the first 5-leaf that's available from the top. That's going to ensure that you get new buds. Then it's all asthetic. Adjust it the way you want.





Don't be afraid to cut too much--roses are very resilient. They're going to grow back. They look so tender and fragile, but really they're very resilient.





Just don't cut it all the way back to the bulb. (that's the part at the bottom that the branches come from).





Rake around the bottom, throw that stuff in your garden bin, sprinkle some rose food on top, and put a layer of mulch down. Water twice a week or as often as needed.





Good Luck!





Trilli
Reply:Cut them back hard, cut all the dead parts out of the middle,to let light in,This will not hurt them , they are really tough plants.Leave only a few main branches.(caution wear leather gloves) they are prickly buggers.