When in the season do I prune roses, and how do I protect them for the winter season?

Question

I think a question that long probably says it all ;)

Thanks all

Links are great if you know of any

Answer 1

Roses are pruned all through summer. After flowering the stem is cut below the spent flower to an outward facing bud. Remove any spindly stems.

After the first frost, cut down the stems to about 2' to avoid the plant from being dislodged by wind. Strip the rose of all leaves so that no fungus or insects are carried over to the next year. Now spray the bare stems and the ground around the rose with Lime Sulphur. For winter protection cover the stems  about 1' high with ripe compost, leaves - these have to be anchored down with either compost or manure. Early spring remove the winter protection, remove diseased and weak stems, and fertilize the root zone. Use an organic spray against fungus.

Answer 2

In addition to Gardener's suggestion which I totally agree with, cut some of the center branches out as close to the ground as you can throughout the season. This way the breeze can flow through keeping the leaves dry and minimizing the chances for all those nasty leaf eating funguses to take hold.

Answer 3

You should give your roses their main prune in the spring. If you want them to keep flowering you need to dead head them during the summer.

If they have gotten too (leggy)  tall during the summer then it may be sensible to reduce the height in Autumn. Other than that they should survive the winter just fine.