Chuck, is it possible for us to see a picture of your rose?
It's difficult to determine why it is not blooming, without seeing it.
There could be a hundred different reasons.

Jeri

Chuck-if you can't provide a picture can you tell us more about how you care for the rose bush? How much sunlight does it get each day, how often do you fertilize, how often do you water, how do you prune, etc.? i'm no expert but others are and can use this information to help you.

Hi Chuck,

You are in a high cold zone, if you are New York. If you did not winter your plants properly, you may have some damage to the root system. I lived in the Midwest for 11 years and you have to winter your roses.

If you are not pruning and pruning properly, you could be discoraging growth. One woman kept cutting off her red buds not knowing what they were and could not get blooms.
You also need to deep prune for winter to encourage new growth in the Spring. Due to my age my eyes are not as good as they used to be so I have to be careful about what I cut. If it remotely looks as if something is trying to growth at a leaf juncture, I do not cut it off. i wait and let the bush tell me if there is something there to grow.
As the other growers said , I need more information to answer this question throughly. there is a great book out there, 2 books, which will tell you everything you could ever what and then some. And they both have just about every rose pictured on the planet.

Complete Guide to Roses
by Miracle Grow
Complete Roses
by Field Roebuck

I learned my growing the hard way. Own my own through the years. Save yourself some years and buy both of these books. They are awesome. I just picked them up myself because I want to know more about the vast varieties.

You may need to buy cold hardy bushes.

also there are two types of Roses, the old roses that bloom once and the new roses that having multiple blooming times.

I do not feed my plants alot. But I make sure there is the best soil in place and they get feed about two-three times a year with alfalfa and rose-tone, and just alittle at each feeding. I also add a tiny bit of epsom salt. Once a summer i put Neem Oil in the ground but I use a diluted form of two small cap fulls per 32 oz. and I add a teaspoon of ivory liquid.

Make sure you have mulch in place like fine bark.

And make sure you have room to breath in your roots and plants. AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE SUN!!!

A picture would help and some more info.

Happy Growing,
Rosa

How old is the rose... when was it planted?

Thank you, I have had the rose about 5 years. I fertilize it 2 or 3 times a year with a fertilizer that is for rose bushes. I don't prune it because I want it to grow (also don't know how to prune it. It's about 3 1/2 feet high. I protect it for the winter by covering up the base and mulching over it. It gets about 6-8 hours of sunshine. I don't have anything to take a picture of it and post it here. Thanks again.

I second alfalfa or alfalfa tea.

I third some alfalfa meal, or Mills Magic Mix. That will get it going.

It sounds like it is getting the right amount of sunshine.

Could there be any competition from tree roots? Tree roots will suck the nutrients and water out from under a rose. Or is there any competition from grass around it? Rose roots just can't compete with anything. They need a root space of their very own.

Just curious, what color are the blooms? I'm suspicious that it might be the rose used as a rootstock, Dr. Huey. I hope I'm wrong...

It's a bright red color. I will get some alfalfa meal and put it on. I keep the dirt around it free of weeds. The grass around it is away from the rose bush. I have ground ivy by it so I weed around the rose bush quite often. Thank you for your time again. Oh, how do you prune it to make it flower more. Thank you Thank you

Hi Chuckby. Most roses are grown on rootstock that is a different rose variety from the rose that is growing above ground (the rose you want). The reason Diane nj asked what color rose you had is because it is very possible that the rootstock has decided to grow above ground. This is especially relevant because the most common rootstock, Dr. Huey, is a red rose that only blooms once a year, no matter what you do.

I've linked pictures of Dr. Huey. Is that your rose? If so, you may want to consider digging it up, ammending the soil with some compost, and planting a good cold hardy, own root rose (not grafted on Dr. Huey).

The good people on this forum will be very happy to recommend a variety that will give you more than 2 roses! : )

I don't live in zone 5, but know that Buck roses are generally disease resistant and very hardy for zone 5.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Huey ??

It is not pruning that produces flowers. It is new growth that is a response of the plant to the pruning. Modern roses produce flowers on new growth. There is no special way to prune that produces flowers.

If it is not the good Doctor, then new growth will produce new flowers without pruning. One thing you can and should do is remove any of the "Three Dees"--any material that is Dead, Diseased, or Damaged.

You could prune it back by 25-30% now if you wanted to, but first try getting some new growth via alfalfa meal or some other fertilizer.

If the new growth produces flowers, then prune it back by that amount after it blooms and it will be ready for the next flush.

If new growth does not produce any flowers, then it may indeed be another visit from old Doc Huey, and it may be time for the Ultimate Pruning Tool: the shovel.

I agree with hoovb wholeheartedly. Beyond all the other aspects of good plant care - good soil, good feeding practices, enough water, lots of sunlight - the single most important rose care chore is pruning. You won't get a larger rose bush by not pruning it - if the rose variety you have is not destined to be a large rose bush. You have to prune. The rose's root system will only support so much top growth. So long as you leave the plant unpruned, it's going to be reluctant to throw out new shoots, because it is already carrying enough top growth. Once you reduce the amount of vegetative growth by pruning, the rose will get the message "Hey! It's time to get more stems and foliage up there - it's looking a bit sparse."

I would add one more "dee" to Hoovb's 3 D's though - my 4 "dees" are Damaged, Diseased, Dead or Done. I.e., remove those several year old canes that are no longer productive of flowers.

Good point, cactus_joe, removing the oldest cane or two can often stimulate the production of a new fresh cane. Of course, you don't want to remove all the canes.

in my experience, a great way to create more basal shoots is to prune off perhaps an older shoot or two; it creates a catalyst for change- think transfer of energy. it will redirect energy to the bottom. a real science so study and learn how to do it. sometimes the rose needs to be stimulated and pruning manipulates the plant into rejuvenating itself. very cool actually