Dead double-knockout roses?

Question

My husband and I moved into a house (in South Georgia) that had a hedge of double knockout roses in May. They were a bit grown up, so we decided to trim them just a little bit. Since then, the tops of the plant have grown back up and are doing fine, but the rest of the plant looks kind of dead and hardly any roses are blooming. I'm new to gardening, so does anyone have any suggestions?

Answer 1

Wait 'til fall,then hard prune the rose bushes by the see-saw method.This involves cutting half the branches back to within 3-4 inches from the ground-cut to an outward facing bud,if visible.

Leave the other branches full length,just "tip" 'em as you've done before.

Remove any obviously dead wood at the same time,aiming to produce an open centred plant,resembling a goblet.

Next spring use  a proprietary rose feed,then continue to treat as above.