Pruning rosebushes

[secondcor521]

Hi all.

I have three rosebushes and don't really know how to prune them.

They're mature rosebushes.  At least ten years old.  They're in a garden area between my front walkway, patio, and garage.  They get afternoon and evening sun.  Boise, Idaho area.

I know locals are saying prune them in the next week or so.  OK, I can do that timing.

What I don't know is how far back to prune.

There are two basic stalk types.  I need instructions for each type.

First stalk type is thick (1/2"), old, dry, brown, stick-like, and appears to be dead.  These are currently about 12 to 14 inches long and I have about three or four of them per plant.

Second stalk type is long, thin (1/4"), green, young, flexible, and new (from last year some time).  These are currently of varying heights up to about three feet.

Overall they seem happy.  I fertilize them with rose food a couple of times a year and water them with the sprinkler system (which may not be great to do).  They bloom a few times a year.

So:

1.  How far back to cut the brown stalks?

2.  How far back to cut the green stalks?

Thank you!

[deborah]

Cut a little off the brown stalks (maybe an inch, possibly more) and work out if they’re really dead or not. I suspect not. If any of them are dead, prune the dead bits completely. Prune the remaining stalks back to a pleasing shape that’s slightly smaller than you want, to allow for growth.

[secondcor521]

Cut a little off the brown stalks (maybe an inch, possibly more) and work out if they’re really dead or not. I suspect not. If any of them are dead, prune the dead bits completely. Prune the remaining stalks back to a pleasing shape that’s slightly smaller than you want, to allow for growth.

Thanks.  That sounds easy enough.

How do I tell if the brown stalks are really dead or not?  Is it obvious what to look for?

What do I do if I cut a little off the brown stalks and they're not dead?  Leave them at the 12-14" length?

[Telecaster]

For all stalks, cut back to just ahead of the first bud.

When in doubt, cut further back.

[MudPuppy]

You’re only getting flowers from the newer branches, so if you don’t want the woody ones there for shape or size, they aren’t really doing you any good. I cut mine back this year to about 2 ft tall. Make sure that you leave at least one little bud area on the branch if you want the one you are trimming to bear leaves and blooms. Snip on an angle and make sure you are using clean blades to help prevent disease.

[sixwings]

I like to prune to a bud that's facing a direction that I want it to grow (outwards). You generally dont want to prune to an inward facing bud as that will prevent good airflow around the rose bush.

Really though, roses are super hardy, chop a bunch off and see what happens!

[oldladystache]

In my Southern California retirement community many residents have roses in their front gardens. Every January the gardeners come by and cut them all down to 6 or 8 inches tall.

Every year I hear complaints about how bad they look and how we hope they haven't all been killed. Then a few months later (now) we all admire how nice all the roses look.

[secondcor521]

I pruned the roses a few weeks ago.  I did get a couple of fast growing spindly green shoots on one of the bushes, but I figured out that those were sucker shoots so I cut those completely away today.