Having moved into a new house over the Summer (UK), I am keen to preserve the very good state in which the previous residents left the garden.
In particular, there is a lovely rose bush growing along a little fence in the garden. I happened to get chatting to a nearby neighbour shortly after moving in, who was out gardening at the time - when I asked about how to prune the rose bush, he said to cut the dead flowers away at the base of the stem from which they were growing.
I have been doing this consistently since moving in, and it appears to have been good advice - I have seen more and more buds appear and flower as I have been doing this.
What I am wondering is whether I should continue doing this over the winter months, with the expectation that the flowers will stop appearing at some point, and then re-appear in Spring?
It probably sounds a bit late in the season to be asking this question - so I guess that shows that I live in a relatively warm part of the UK, and there are a couple of buds which have appeared on the bush recently- I guess as it's been a relatively mild start to the winter months.
How can I best preserve the rose bush so that it survives the winter, and starts to flower again in the spring? Should I keep pruning as I have been doing, until no more flowers appear, or is there a point at which I should stop pruning?