I'm glad that I came back to my post to report that the ARS link above is confusing and contradictory. Lori_elf is right, experience rules over what ARS dictates. My Marchesa Bocella was a tiny band this summer. When I dug it up, the roots shrank in my alkaline clay, so my pruning wasn't the problem. The only statement that makes sense from the ARS' link is: "Avoid pruning Old Garden Roses the first two years, let them get established first." Some OGRs' once-bloomers bloom on old wood, and Marchesa Bocella blooms on both old wood and new wood. The above statement of "Avoid pruning ... let them get established" applies to wimpy own-roots as well, I don't prune mini-roses and Hybrid teas, both are wimpy as own-roots in my cold zone 5a. If I prune them too hard, they become appetizers for bunnies. However, I'm ruthless in pruning aggressive octopusy Austins like Evelyn, which throw 3 feet canes as a 2-months old baby. This link for Southern CA mild coastal climates make it much clearer than ARS's link: "Gallica, Damask, Alba, Centifolia, and Moss roses are OGRs that only bloom in spring. Prune these right after they finish blooming; this is usually sometime in early summer. The Damask roses in particular resent hard pruning, so it is best to lightly prune flowering shoots back a few inches. Repeat-blooming OGRs like: Portland, Bourbon, Hybrid Perpetual, Perpetual Damask, and Perpetual Moss roses are pruned at the same time as modern roses (January to February). Treat these roses as you would Hybrid Teas. Strong growing Hybrid Perpetual, roses require hard pruning to promote flowering, so plan to remove at least one half of last year's growth to produce better flowers. Tea and China roses produce flowers on small twiggy growth and should only be lightly pruned ... We have found they respond badly to a winter pruning. We have found that pruning Tea and China roses in the hot part of summer produces quick regrowth and they don't sit around moping for years as they tend to do if you prune them in the cold part of the year... A common complaint directed at the once-flowering Gallica roses is that they often produce very few flowers in our mild coastal regions. Gallica roses in particular require winter chilling to flower; often our mild winters are just not cold enough to produce flowers. " See the link below for Mild Coastal Southern CA tips on OGR's. Here is a link that might be useful: Huntington Botanical Garden on pruning OGRs'

Well, I saw a lot of forsythia in bloom around Newark Airport this evening, so I would say that it is pruning time in our area. Take out all dead and damaged canes. How far down you cut depends on how tall they are. If you are comfortable, you can cut them down about half. If you are not, then just give a light trim. You can always come back and trim again after the first bloom cycle is over.

Well, Springhill had a sale and I had to jump on it....so I bought 40 (used a 50.00 coupon too) for $80.00-- Filled the entire border! It is so frustrating that the site says one thing http://springhillnursery.com/green-ice-mini-rose/p/80320/ and you are saying they get triple that size. Well, it's done now---I'm going to just have to experiment with the pruning to keep them small. I have read that people go in with an electric trimmer and lop of the tops of them in early spring. Guess I will have to experiment.

Three days & no responses from this imaginative group??? I cross-posted on Boansai and got one response. I think the response is worth posting here for anyone who may have given the idea even the slightest consideration. "* Posted by: mark_rockwell 7 Va (My Page) on Mon, Feb 2, 04 at 9:00 Skip the hybrid "sissy" rose bushes and the mini roses ;-) You want a monster that has to be tamed for rose bonsai. Stick to the good old naturalized multiflora rose. The specific varieties won't take to the necessary root pruning and fast draiing soil as well as the multiflora weed. They also aren't as fast growing (which is a necessary trait to develop a bonsai). Mini rose, in particular, is a slow growing dwarf that will take a very long time to develop into a nice bonsai. The best way to get a rose for bonsai use is to dig up a very very old one and top chop it down to bonsai size, then regrow the branching. I have a large 6-7 inch diameter wild collected multiflora as a bonsai. Have had it for several years, after it was dug from a field where it had grown 30 feet up a telephone pole. One afternoon in Spring, it was chopped down to two feet and had its root ball reduced to fit into a five gallon bucket, then left to regenerate for a year or two. Bonsai soil was used. Potting sol is inappropriate. It is very hardy, but it tends to die back after hard pruning--I suspect because of the small area available for roots. It is very tolerant of root pruning."