My first thought would be to give them some miracle grow and keep them watered. I don't know where you are but if it's very hot right now where you are I would wait until it's cooler to prune them, I am in Texas and I would probably wait but that's just me and I'm kinda new at this. I'm sure some of the more experienced posters will chime in and give some good advice on what you should do. Good luck!

Knowing where you are would definitely help. Pictures of these roses would also be a big help.

Do not cut that big one back yet. Without know what kind of rose it is you may be cutting off it's entire bloom for the year. Some roses only bloom once a season and then build up for the next season. Only prune them immediately after they have finished blooming and then leave them alone until they bloom again. Some roses also need that big bushy structure to do well. And it could be that it's a climber and meant to be that tall. We need a lot more information before we can begin to help you with them.

In the mean time I would STOP giving them Epsom Salts and start giving them some fertilizer. Any good well balanced fertilizer will do just fine. Just follow the instructions on the package carefully.

You can take out any dead wood but wait to prune off anything with leaves on it. They need those leaves to feed the plant. If you're unsure if it's dead wood or not just snip off a bit of the tip of the cane. If the center is anything but a greenish white in the center it's probably dead. Keep cutting down in small pieces until you find that white center.

Water, water, water. Then watch and see ! Organic fertilizer will not burn if you don't pile it on. If they were in my charge, I would scratch in some alfalfa pellets, and water water water. If they look crispy and the cambium layer is brown or black, I would remove the ( canes) bad ones, but as the rest have said; you might have some glorious climbers in there. Weeding around them does not hurt anything and may help you to rejuvenate them. If they have dead roses clinging you can clip those off (deadhead).

These next three pics are of both of the rose bushes, i hope you can see them well enough, the area around them looks pretty run down but this is the part of the yard i haven't begun to work on yet, i wanted to know the best course of action before i even start. This picture is of the smallest rose bush.

This is the only bud on the smallest one i just posted before this.

And this is the best pic i could get of the tallest one, it was kinda hard to get the whole thing in one picture cause its so tall, that one doesnt have any buds that are open to see the color yet though. I hope these help. Also i live in California, and it has been incredibly hot here for quite a while so ive been deeply watering them at least once a day. Again i am completely new at gardening, especially working with roses, so i greatly appreciate everyones help and advice, i definitely need all the help i can get.

This post was edited by MissKayle10-3-13 on Wed, Jul 9, 14 at 18:37

This depends on where you live. I personally would not use Miracle Grow. It's like crack for roses and that bloom comes with a price. I would use some good compost and organics in the soil..get that soil healthy. Cut anything off the rose that looks diseased or dead and hold off anything else until next spring..unless you live in a climate that prunes in the fall. Here in the Pacific Northwest we prune in the spring

Since you live in CA, the tall one is probably a hybrid tea, they just get that big there unless you prune twice a year. Adding a layer of mulch (shredded bark mulch is available bagged at big box stores) will help conserve moisture. The foliage looks great, especially for neglected roses in a drought prone area. Congratulations on your new home.