I admit that while I can read computer manuals and understand every word, when it comes to gardening books, it all just goes right over my head.

We have several rose bushes. I go out every so often to dead-head - remove the dead flowers but leave the bud base so new flowers can bloom more easily. My stepdaughter is here for the weekend, and says that I should be cutting the entire bud off, like snipping it below the bud, leaving only the stem. I re-read my gardening book and still only see the recommendation for dead-heading, not for completely cutting the entire bud-base off. In other years, we've just dead-headed and the roses continue to bloom all summer long, so I'm leery of cutting those bud-bases off.

I know there are many experienced gardeners here...what are we supposed to do when once the bloom is finished?

I just cut off the dead bloom. Then yearly cut the whole bush back so the canes are about 12-18" long. Here in AZ, we do this in January, but where you are the timing would be different. I always cut the stem at an angle, and if it's more than about 1/4" in diameter, I put wood glue on the stem to prevent cane borers. If what you are doing works, then keep doing it.

I too cut off the dead blooms only Eagle. I would also cut back the entire bush once all the blooms had died. My rose bushes all looked like sticks in the ground after blooming season was done and I cut them way back. Then the next year they were twice as filled with blooms and just beautiful.

Cut the dead blossoms back about half an inch above the next leaf.

If the rose bush has a long stem, without any side stems, then cut it way down.

Hubby told me this, and he is THE rose expert.

As far as cutting the roses all the way down, opinions differ here. We cut them back every two years. But what Chatty and Yonuh do, is correct as well.

Here is just a little part of our rose garden and other flowers next to our garage. I just LOVE roses.

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Those are gorgeous, Edelweiss! Ours don't look anything like that - though several weeks of rain and no sun hasn't helped (some of the new buds are so soggy they're starting to rot).

I think I'll just try an experiment - I'll cut back half of the rose bush (the sides facing the street and sidewalks) according to your hubby's recommendation and just deadhead the other half (the side facing the house) the way I've been doing and watch for the difference.

We usually cut back in the fall after the first frost. But we might wait til spring, because one of the primary purposes of this rose garden is to prevent people using our front lawn as a shortcut to the parking lot. We were away last fall and never got around to cutting back - then noticed that nobody short-cut through during the winter because the thorny branches stuck out too much. So we might leave the pruning until spring again!

Thanks Yonuh, Chatty and Edelweiss!

Too much rain, or even too much watering isn't good for roses. What a good idea to make a 'natural' fence.

I think I was the kid short cut queen. I knew every yard from our house to my elementary school, which was about 2 miles away. Can't happen here. Everyone has fences.

Edelweiss....okay...can I come live with you? My goodness, your garden is absolutely breathtaking...I mean there are no words really to describe how beautiful that is...WOW!!! I rented a place in Delkenheim, Germany and the roses grew well there as did everything else...Germany seems to have such a great climate for flowers. I had the most beautiful long-stemmed yellow roses and red roses climbing up on one side of the house. Here north of Mobile, the roses struggle due to the heat and humidity...alas we don't get near the beautiful roses you have, Edelweiss. I love the blue flowers in the foreground...what are they? Tell your husband he's done an excellent job on your garden...WOW...that's all I can say when I look at that picture...WOW!!!!

I agree with EW .
.We cut the heads off with sharp secateers.a bit of stem too.
But locality is important,In wet summers our roses are not as good.And hot summers they thrive.Where we plant them watching where the water table is they need drainage and food. Scattered earlier in the year as they grow.I pick it up in the Pound shops in boxes like cereal packets..Clematis are greedy for the same feed and thrive.

Because we are in a windy area I prune at the end of the season..Nov here.I have that last clutch of roses cut for the house. Then in spring I tidy any stragglers or briars which may show.Soil gets tired of roses so never replant in the same area when one stock has come to a natural end.

I made the mistake of planting some in a wetter area at the end of my garden and poor things did not like it.so I learned by error.

Mountain ash

Edelweiss, your garden is so lovely! I'd love to walk around and sniff the blossoms. Then we could sit on your porch and drink ...not beer for me... do Germans have iced tea?

I'm not much help with roses. A few neighbors grow them, but I'm sure that advice for SoCali climate may not necessarily work in cooler, wetter environs.

EW, what a beautiful garden!! Simply lovely! What are those light and dark blue flowers?