When do i prune my rose bushes and how low?

i have several rose bushes and they didnt bloom at all last year. they are potted adn also their stems are really thin. should i take them out of the pots and put them in ground or should i leave them alone. and also how low should i prune them. they are really tall and stringy too. they never had buds either. i live in north florida and also would they grow okay inthe shade??
When do i prune my rose bushes and how low?
Yes take them out of the pots and put them in the ground.

As long as the ground is not frozen then you should be just fine. They are proabably dormant right now anyhow.



They are tall and stringy because they are probably root bound, not getting enough nutrients, and not enough sun. Roses need at least 6 hours of full sun per day. You can plant them in the shade but they will not bloom or grow.



Here are instruction on how and when to prune as well as how to transplant roses into a garden.



General Pruning:

You do this to remove any dead or dying canes or spent flowers. You need to pick a set of five leaves, but not necessarily the first set. Pick a set of five that are pointing outward because that will be the direction of a new cane and flowers. If you choose one pointing inward then your canes can cross and will cause other problems. Cut the cane at an angle like this (/) about 1/4" above the five leaf set. It is okay to do this with each cane and especially if the cane is dying. It is also okay to do this throughout the growing season because it promotes new growth. Also, it is important to seal any pruned cane the size of a pencil or larger with white glue to protect the wound and promote faster healing.



Autumn Pruning:

Any time between the first freeze of Autumn and the last freeze of winter you can seriously prune your rose down to about 2 feet. This will create a fuller, lusher plant for the new season. Once again you will want to cut at an angle. However, instead of cutting above a five leaf set, this time you will want to cut right above a node which will resemble a small, reddish, slightly pointed bump on the cane. Like the five leaf set, make sure the node is pointing outward.



http://www.bayeradvanced.com/article/how...

Video from Expert Village on how to prune a rose:

http://homegarden.expertvillage.com/vide...





Transplanting a rose (skip #s 1, 7, 8, 9)

1) wait until evening when temps are cooler.

2) cut the rose back to about 2 or 3 feet.

3) prepare the new home by digging a hole 2ftx2ft and water the hole. Fill the hole with water and let it drain at least twice.

4) save the top 2/3 of soil that you just dug up and set aside. Discard the bottom 1/3.

5) amend the soil you saved with peat, bone meal, and garden compost.

6) in the bottom of the hole add a layer of manure 2-3 inches thick and then layers some of the amended soil on top of the manure. Do NOT set the roots directly on the manure.

7) use a shovel to cut around the rose bush about 18inches from the trunk all the way around.

8) Moving around the rose bush again, reinsert the shovel and pull down on the handle. Doing this all the way around will loosen the soil and begin to separate any long roots. Keep doing this until the rose can be easily removed (Don't worry too much if you break a root because roses are tougher than they look)

9) Remove the rose. At this point it is best to keep as much of the origional soil around the roots as possible since it is summer. If you move it in the fall you can shake the soil away and trim any damaged or dying roots.

10) set the rose in hole making sure the soil on the root ball is a little above the level of the new hole. You want the rose to be on a small mound.

11) fill in the hole half way with the ammended soil and water. Once the water has run through then finish filling in the hole with the soil and water throughly.



Now that you have transplanted your rose then make sure you give it water it weekly. Be sure you water it at the base and early in the morning because roses don't like to get wet.
Reply:North Florida, I say now to the next month or so. Yes, get them out of the pots and into the ground. Pots confine the roots too much. Only way to make that work is to knock them out each year, trim off some roots and repot. What a bother.



Thin stems may indicate a miniature rose.......so unless we don't know the variety, it's hard to be too specific. As for pruning, once in the ground with wonderful soil and nutrients, prune by removing all the dead and damaged parts. Look down each stem for the buds.....those red bumps and cut to just above those. Make sure the buds face out, not in because you are trying to create a vase, not a tangled internal web.



As for shade......no way! Roses need sunlight! You may have to give these guys away and concentrate on something that will grow and bloom in shade.
Reply:roses are better in the ground but replant in compost and give them some rose feed prune feb to one foot stand back and watch
Reply:Any month with and 'R' in it my grandma always said.

Remove 3/4 of the old growth.

Roses prefer full sun.