Fryers rose "Lucky"

Hi,

A few years ago I bought three Fryers roses "Lucky", planted with loving care in our mixed border. They have done reasonably well, fertilised with Q4 as recommended by Fryers, but I wonder if they prefer not to compete with other plants.

Never mind that is where they are. Now the questions. To encourage them to make strong, robust and energetic new leaders, do I give them a hard prune? OR - Do I continue to leave the original leaders, which stand above the surrounding plants, as they get older and less energetic?

 

I would give them a hard prune , do it when new leaf growth starts in spring.
First have a good look at the rose and cut out all dead , diseased and rubbing / crossing stems. Then cut down all of the strongest growth ( including the leaders ! ) to about 30cm .
Then cut down all less strong growth to about 15cm . This will encourage plenty of new growth and flowering . Feed with Vitax Q4 after pruning and again in June , to encourage further flowering.

 

Is this rose a floribunda and lilac/pink in colour Finston?

Below is a diagram that will help you. Roses are usually pruned in February.

 

Perhaps it is as well I asked as I was going to prune them back to about 4 inches - 10 cm. Previously, I have been pruning them to 18-24in to keep them above the border height.

 

No 4 inches is to low for roses. You were quite right to leave them taller as they will put out new shoots from the existing stems and fill out.

No. 4 on the diagram isn't necessary unless the leaves are diseased. They will fall naturally around the time of dormancy anyway.

 

For pruning it all depends on where you live. We prune in March or April depending on the weather.
Here's a video
I have made a thread about this guy, it's called Fraser valley rose farm