Question
i just put in the ground two queen elizabth roses bushes.  the directions say to cut the tops.  what does that mean?  does it mean to prune the bush part that has the wax on the ends or the entire bush?  sorry i am new to this as you can tell and my son gave me two lovely rose bushes and i don't want to kill them.

Answer
If your roses were in a pot and only have short canes, there is really no need to cut it back. The wax is put on because it stops the moisture from escaping and the rose then stays healthy. The warmth of the sun will melt it for you. If you have any type of mulch, I would place it all around the base of your roses as roses do much better with cool, damp roots. Make sure to water daily for at least a month. By that time the rose's roots will be grown enough to take up any nutrients. Fertilize after the rose has bloomed because again, the roots are unable to take up the fertilizer until they have grown their feeder roots.