Question
My husband and I bought a new house this December in Frederick County Maryland.  The hous is surrounded by roses.  I don't know what type.  I have cleaned the beds out but what do I need to do.  They look kind of stragley, I mean growing in all sorts of different directions so, I think I need to prune them but I'm not sure how and if this time of year is the right time.  

Do I need to use insecticides?  I don't see any bugs.  Do I need to feed?  What do I feed them and how?

Do you know of any beginners guides on roses.  I really have no experience with growing anything!  In the past my house plants didn't even survive!

Any information you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Our new home is so beautiful, and with blooming roses it will be more so, I really don't want to screw this up.

Thanks,
Deb Coe
Desparate Gardner

Answer
Here is the Maryland Rose Society's rose information site for growing roses in Maryland.
http://www.mgs.md.gov/mdrose/calendar.html
Orthos book, All About Roses, is around $15 and is simple and straight forward. The best one to start with in growing roses and understanding their needs.
Because your roses were not kept up you will need to prune them harder than usual. First cut out all dead canes. Then cut out all damaged canes with dark brown marks on them. Finally cut out all canes which are coming from the base that are thinner than a pencil. Then whack the whole bush back by a half.
To keep roses healthy, they need to make new growth every year and you do that by pruning in the spring when they are starting to leaf out. Cutting a rose makes it mad because it must replace it with new growth.
Sprinkle any type of rose fertilizer all around the base. Do this when they are starting to leaf out and again in the middle of July. Stop all fertilizing after the middle of July or the rose won't have hardened off it's canes to cope with the winter cold. Fertilizing makes new soft growth which will freeze and can kill the rose. Snap all dead flowers off(or cut them) don't bother about cutting them back top the first set of 5 leaves as that has been proven of no value. Taking the dead flowers off encourages the rose to make more.
In regards to spraying, never use an insecticide until you see the bugs. Using an insecticide just to keep all insects away also kills the good bugs. Black spot is the main problem with roses. Spraying when you see the spots is too late. I would watch and see what roses get it badly and then remember to start your spraying program before they start to grow.
Hope this helps. Lynnette