Question
We just bought a house and have a very large and leggy rose bush/tree that the previous owners told us they had never taken care of (it has been tied to the fence in a few places to keep branches from breaking).  I would love to prune it down to a manageable size, but I am not sure how much I can cut it down without killing it. It is currently about 10 feet high with two main branches about 5 inches in diameter.  the first leaves and roses start about 6 or 7 feet from the base, but there are also a few starter stems coming up from the base as well.  How should I trim it?

Answer
The problem with letting a rose bush do it's own thing and grow how it wants to, is that the lower canes become so hard, new growth finds it almost impossible to push out and make new canes. So to make sure you don't damage it  ( you won't kill it only just make it look uneven) is to do the pruning in three stages. This year cut it back by three feet, next spring cut it back again by two feet and finally, if new canes are coming below where you cut it and they are getting too tall again, then those canes back in the late fall. I am assuming here that you don't get a cold winter. if you do get cold winters, then prune in the spring for three years. Don't be concerned how you prune the rose simply cut it straight across the top. You can do some shaping if you want to in the summer if a cane starts to grow too long. I don't think you will be able to keep it down past 6 feet because it appears to be a very vigorous rose and pruning back encourages more vigour. Once you have down the main pruning the rose will have more strength to help the ones that are coming from the base to grow more. One more thing, go easy on the nitrogen as this rose doesn't need much, try one that encourages more bloom as the middle number will be the highest and the first, which is the nitrogen will be much lower.