There were seven rose bushes here when we bought the house. Four of them were five foot wide and six foot tall overgrown but blooming like crazy. They bloomed through Christmas and we’re blooming in late summer when we first saw the house. I am in the process of pruning them back with a goal to get about 60% pruned out. There is some disease that I may be able to treat if I get the plants healthy. I am getting all the mulch and debris out from below them and sprayed them with fungicide and dormant oil when we got here in December.
Pruning is difficult as I have hand, arm and leg skin that punctures and bruises with the slightest touch due to chemo. So I get covered up with leather guards in addition to heavy gloves.
I am determined to get these roses restored as they hold over a hundred and fifty blooms at any one time. (Actual count the week before Christmas)
Roses are the plant where I have the least experience so I am always open to advice.
Those sound like old ‘Rugosa’ type roses to me. They are tough as nails.
At my other farm I had ‘Hansa’ and ‘Terese Bugnet’ and later added ‘Blanc Double D’Colbert’ and did minimal pruning, but if your roses had been neglected, I’m sure they need it by now.
I recently added ‘Cuthbert Grant’ and the ‘Blanc Double D’Colbert’ to my ‘new’ farm. I want them for the scent, for the petals and for the hips at the end of the season for jelly. (High in Vitamin C)
Take out the oldest, thickest wood to start...which will be a project in itself. Or, hire it out, maybe? ;) You can also take out any branches that are ‘sticking out funny’ or are wildly taller than any of the other branches.
Roses like full sun, can tolerate drought but appreciate a weekly drink (from rain or the hose), and any fertilizer with a high MIDDLE number on the NPK scale is fine with them and promoted blooming. Used coffee grounds are appreciated by roses; just sprinkle them beneath.