Question
HI Lynnette--
im new at roses. This year I pruned, fertilized and things are coming along great. My question is 3 fold

1)WHen the roses come out how often should I cut them from the bush and where abouts (how should I cut?)

2)How often should I fertilize. Right now Im adding fertilzer every-month & I added Epson salts instead of fertilizer this month

3) If the buses get large during summer should I prune or just wait until Jan again?
thanks so much for your help
raj

Answer
1) Books use to tell you that when you cut a rose you go back to the first 5 leaves but this has been proven to be of no value and now they tell you to just snap the dead flower off with your fingers or clippers. If you want to cut some to take indoors then cut them how long you want them. But cutting back more than 8 inches means the rose will have to replace the cane before it can make another flower.
2) Roses bloom in two flushes so you fertilize when they start to leaf out and then again after they have finished the first flush. If you get a cold winter then don't fertilize after the middle of July and then the canes will harden off and go through the winter okay. Fertilizing after July means you encourage new canes which are soft and will get killed by the cold.
3) Roses have to grow to a certain height (each rose plant is different) until they bloom. Cutting them back in the summer will just delay blooming until they replace what was cut off. Spring pruning is better and if you are growing hybrid teas then they can be cut way back to 12 inches and this should make a 3 foot bush in the summer and 18 inches makes a 3 1/2 foot bush. Other types of roses should be cut back by a third in the spring. Hope this helps. Lynnette