Question
QUESTION: Hi again Jay,

Another question for you. I have a dozen or so roses in the back garden that are all 1 year old. After frost risk was gone, i cut all back to approx 12 inches, but i think this may have been too severe as although they are all still healthy, they are very slow to grow. This time last year i had new canes jumping up everywhere and flowers, this year healthy foliage, but no vigorous new canes...and no sight of flowers yet.

Will these recover eventually? Would you suggest that, next year at pruning time, i leave them alone (apart from dead wood/crossing canes).

Thank you,
Mark

ANSWER: Hello Mark,

Depending on the type of roses you have, it may have a been shock to the plant but with you saying they have healthy foliage I am sure they will be fine.  There was gentleman here in South Carolina that used to say , roses will grow despite what rosarians do to them."

Old garden roses tend to need a light pruning to remove any dead canes and do not like a severe pruning as they store their energy in the canes.  Unlike the modern roses that need a good pruning.  Even on those, leave them about knee high.

Have you fertilized them yet?

Also, if you like to tell me what roses you are growing and I can tell you how far to cut them back next year.

Off to your next question.

Thanks,

Jay

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thx for such a quick reply...

ok, I have 3 margaret merrill, 2 irish eyes, 2 fragrant delight, one rhapsody in blue, all floribundas. I have climbers also (that's jazz and etoile du hollande), however i'm happy with the pruning regimes for those....at least they seem to be flowering well this year. On a separate issue, the two climbers couldn't be different in terms of growth shape. Etoile sent out 4/5 long flexible canes up last year, but no flowers. This year is blooming wildly. That's jazz is more like a gangly bush rose. It flowered last year and is doing so again this, but the canes are very thick and rigid, and are almost impossible to bend over horizontally. I've left them vertical as i didnt want to start snapping canes!
thanks again, mark

Answer
Hi,

Everything you mentioned can be cut back to 18 inches.   Your climbers would like to have some of last year's growth left to flower the following spring. You do not need to cut them back as severe as the bushes.   Some climbers have very flexible canes and others are hard to bend.

Enjoy the blooms

Jay