New house came with a rose bush; no idea how to maintain

[nonthumb]

Moved into a new house and don't have any idea about rose bushes. Parts of this one is going straight up and almost out of control which really started in July (live in the South where it has been 90+ degrees).

The entire bush leans to the right. I read about "suckers" but can tell if this has them or not. Any suggestions where to start to control this thing? No idea what kind of rose bush besides that the roses are yellow.

 

[oneeye]

That's a rambler or a climbing rose. They need a trellis to hold the canes upright. Wait until Winter and after the plant is dormant prune the side branch back enough to be able to stand the longest main canes up. You can get a large wooden trellis at the local hardware store. When the plant is growing upright you should get some flowers. Now you probably won't get any flowers off the side branches.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

People ask me to prune roses, they pay £10 for it and I come round and cut off £7. Seriously, it doesn't hurt roses to cut back a bit more than you thought, just look for two or three buds to leave on the branch, though I don't cut right back to the bud as you sometimes get a bit of dieback. Buds may not show much before pruning, but they soon sprout after. I prefer late winter, early spring, before it gets going too much, but after the chance of a hard frost. Mind you I don't know about frost in your area.

 

[Logan]

It might not be a climber, it's probably just been neglected. In the autumn I'd cut it back about half, in the spring prune it back to 15inches to a bud that's just above a leaf. It looks like it needs the roots being covered more.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

It might not be a climber, it's probably just been neglected.

I thought that, it looked too 'leggy', but I am a poor judge. I once pruned a 'Rose that never flowers' that was spread across an ancient house. I got a call, "It flowered, but they only last a day, and they are very small.". I had carefully pruned the root stock that had taken over when the graft died. To be fair it was up to the first floor windows and leafless when I started.
You are right about the roots, when they are tall and unsupported you can easily get the plant rocking with the wind and making a gap around the root, they don't like that, but that root looks as though something has died back, could that be the 'real' rose and what is there be the root stock? Best way to tell, get it to flower, prune it.
I can remember travellers calling at my uncle's farm asking if they could search the hedges for wild roses for root stocks, I bet that has been replaced by something much more controlled.

 

[nonthumb]

Thanks for the feedback. I looked this morning and the tall green branches that are growing straight up have buds that are starting to flower.

Is there any action I can take now in the summer? or just let it be and cut off anything that looks dead? FYI, right when I moved in the right side flowered a bunch of roses but now almost looks dead.

 

[nonthumb]

FYI, this was from months ago but shows what they look like when their are flowers.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Nice, bit of tlc and that will be lovely.

 

[Logan]

If it was a climber it would be against the fence more. It looks like a nice flower and not from the rootstock. I'd leave it to flower and then prune it by taking the spent flowers off and cut just above a leaf with a bud by the stem.

 

[nonthumb]

Any advice whether the portion circled in red is dead and if it should be cut?

 

[Logan]

No don't cut that, it's got all the other stems attached to it. If you have to put any more pics up could you please make them bigger? Thanks it will be easier to see it.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

logan is right, I would start by sorting those stems, reduce them by taking out weaker ones and leaving three, maybe four, about six or eight inches apart. Then count three leaf buds up the ones you have saved and take them off well above the bud, there will probably be some die back and you don't want to lose the bud.
I always start with the outside and work in, you can always take a bit more, and I usually do, but I don't want to take anything I wish I could put back.

@Logan ... I managed to click on the picture and then zoom in.

 

[Logan]

Thank you @Oliver Buckle i tried doing that with the pic but it only covered the corner of my screen, I've done that with other ones and it's ok.