Question
Hi - I live in West Michigan (Grand Rapids).  I bought a house this winter with roses along the southeast side of the house which gets full sun until noon.  This spring I cut the stems down to the green (they were not mulched/protected over the winter).  I have lots of beautiful  dark green foliage - very tall stems (5-6') with no sign of buds/blooms.  What can I do?

thanks,
Beth

Answer
Sounds very normal to me Beth. When you cut a rose down it gets busy replacing what was dead or cut. You then get growth at the expense of flowering. You may not even get a flower this year but next year there will be no problem and it will grow the way it was programmed to do. Roses very seldom bloom after they have been hard pruned. Hope this helps.