Wandering Rose Bush
+9
When I bought this home, I inherited a couple of rose bushes that have never seen a pruning shear - ever. Now I have these sprawling stems that no way resemble a rose BUSH.
Do I prune the heck out of it (and when) or is it too late and just accept it as it is.
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roses should be pruned when dormant in the winter or early spring
Roses are pretty hardy (especially this one!) so I would prune lavishly, feed and water and see what happens! None of our roses are fancies and this is the treatment we use. If you cut off the blooms as they fade, more buds will come.
Might be too late this season to to prune back now. Live with it this summer and correct the problem this winter. Typically "pruning" is done in late winter to early spring while dormant, before it starts leafing out. Without a photo, it is hard to judge, since they have never been pruned, even though roses are hardier than most people think, I would hesitate to prune completely back as it might shock it too much and die. My suggestion would be to trim aka deadhead this season, and prune back about a third of it this winter, and the next third the following winter. At least that is what I would do.
Contact your local Ag Extension for local advice, they may be able to offer better suggestions.
you could prune the longer branches now but wait and do a good pruning after the blooming season usually fall- cut off all old wood and dead wood go to walterreeves.com he is a master gardener
I would cut it down, getting rid of any dead canes. Look for any crossing canes and cut them too. It's been around a long time...it can take a good pruning!
Prune 1/3 of branches at a time, it will take a little work to get it into shape
Between all the answers I've received, I think this is now RESOLVED. I'm gonna transplant this Fall (dormant) and replace it with a new Rose Bush next Spring and keep it pruned properly. The transplant, in a less conspicuous place, I can use patience and cut 1/3rd per year to try and bring it back to a "normal" bush. Thanks everyone for the answers, and so quickly too!