I don't. I figure the rose knows what it is doing. And since I have such a cold winter that first year might be the only time I get to see blooms.

I did have one rose this year that died a few weeks after blooming, and it might have helped it to disbud, but I wanted to be sure it was that same rose so I let it bloom. I'm not sure what happened to it after that as it seemed healthy at the time, but since then the leaves have yellowed and dried up.

Not me.

Barbara

I do because I grow primarily own root roses. Removing the buds does help them along the first year, especially when you are dealing with tiny bands. It is really hard ... takes willpower of steel ... but in the end worth it.

Not in 15 years I haven't. I buy roses for bloom. But I also live in a different climate than some others posting here.

Own roots yes, grafted bareroots, no.

I don't.
Maybe I should, but I let the rose do what the rose wants to do.

What Ann said..I want to see the blooms, whatever! Never have noticed a whit of difference from when I first started and it was the recommended thing.

I don't either..own root or not...

Most of the time I don't. I have learned my lesson once, I disbudded one priced rose like hell thinking it will make it oh so great next year and then I lost the rose to evil/wet/cold winter anyway. Talk about irony of things.
Occassionally I will pick off the majority of the buds if the rose is small and slow to start, but I will still keep a few blooms to enjoy (and also, as a post above mentioned, if it's a new rose I want to make sure it's the right variety by blooming it a bit).

Technically, disbudding is a practice exhibitors use to remove unwanted buds at an early stage of developement. If you want one bloom on the cane you remove the side buds when they are less than pea size. If you want a spray you remove the large center bud so all of the side buds will be open at the same time.

But I know you are talking about removing the first flower buds in newly planted bushes. If the bush is small and weak I'll remove all but one or two of them so they can open and I can see if the rose is indeed the one I wanted! I have purchased a few roses locally and via mail order that were mislabelled. If the bush is a good size and seems to be growing well I'll leave the buds on and enjoy the flowers. :-)

Like a few others, I like to let one bloom open to be sure I have the cv I'm supposed to have. Then I remove buds as they form. But we are almost always dealing with small own-roots. I wouldn't bother to do this with a big ol' budded bare root.

Jeri

I only disbud my rooted cuttings to allow for better root growth. Once they appear to rooted well and growing alright I let them bloom.

Depends on the individual plant for me. I have a Madame Hardy own root that got off to a poor start because she was planted in a bad spot. Now she is showing new growth since we moved her but is still quite the petite little thing. If any buds show themselves this year I will pinch them.
The Galway Bay on the other hand has been busy growing since I put it in at the same time, late May. It has only just shown three buds but man that plant has grown so I think it earned the right to show off a little. Besides it is my 6 year old daughter's and I think she wants to see some flowers before she abandons her interest in roses completely.

I don't normally disbud first year plants.
I do however really prune my new bareroot roses very hard so the bush generally will concentrate on root growth initially and not overtax the root system trying to sustain cane and leaf growth. For me this has worked very well.
I also just "nip" each root stock of the root system. Like less than 1/8" is all I cut off of each root taper. I was advised to do this by an older very experienced rosarian early on in my rose growing and I do it religiously. He said it invigorates the roots to grow and take up moisture sooner and more readily.
However true, I think I have a pretty good track record when it comes to starting new bareroots. I have had some pretty sorry looking bareroots turn out to be pretty good growers with just a little extra effort.
Another bit of advice that I have truly seen and experienced personally is to remove any of that wierd "white growth" that is growing on new bareroots when you get them in the mail. This white growth starts off while the bush is in cold storage and not getting any sunlight, thus it is absolutely white in color. I have found that rubbing or pinching off that white growth really speeds up the dormancy breaking process. These white growths will dry up and die eventually no matter what you do and leaving them on the bush just mucks up the process for the plant. There is no sense in letting the bush continue to try and support this doomed growth and detract from the real business at hand of breaking dormancy.
Believe me this really seems to work.
John

Some do and some don't. It's really a matter of preference. I always wanted to see the flowers, so never did it. Frankly, in comparison with those who swore by it, I couldn't see much difference. There is nothing set in stone that says you HAVE to do this. It's up to you.