When it is time to prune in your area just prune it down to around 12 inches or so. Taller if you wish. Mine die down to the ground where I live every winter. They grow back fine every year. Pruning rejuvenates modern roses. Depending on how old your rose is this would be a could time to remove the oldest least productive cane maybe two. This will not hurt the rose.

Wait until Spring to hard prune it...Whats your general location?

zone 7. so pruning tbe TOP and SIDES will stimulate lower growth?

Prune the entire shrub down to 12 inches or so. You can even take it lower if you want. This will rejuvenate the plant almost to the point of starting over (per Patty's comment). So ALL the growth will be lower. The rose can take very hard pruning....I've done it any number of times on even larger, older plants :-)

But do wait until late winter/early spring to do so. Sometime around the beginning of March, weather permitting, is good.

@gardengal- prune diwn to 1 ft? that's a leap of faith... but ill do it! it was pruned hard a few years back (not be me). I'll be taking the shears this go round. thanks a punch!

do you think i should plant any companions within 1.5 to 2 feet of it? mint julip juniper, sedum autumn joy, and varigated lirope come to mind.

I don't know names. There are three tools I pick from. LOL

I have post on Euonymousnimus, peony, and Azalea if anybody can help with those also..

I've reposted Euonymous and Hydrangea site selection questions. The Peony brown spot post should also be accessible as it didn't have "ask the lawn doctor" as a forum.

Both my inbox "thankyou" messages errored, so I'm communicating here!

where are you.. big city name.. zone is divergent ... and not helpful ... include it in every post.. you might be surprised how often it matters ... especially in your hosta post ...

in my cold z5 MI .... i had to cut almost all roses down to 3 to 6 inches.. to protect them from winter ... it is what is normally done ... it does not require a leap of faith as you say ...

as an example.. see what mail order plants look like out of the box ... and basically.. that is what the local nursery gets in spring.. and then pots up for sale ...

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dormantmail+order+rose+plants+in+the+box&t=ffcm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

obviously.. in your zone.. you dont need to be cutting them down for winter ... but that doesnt mean you cant ...

roses have dormant buds .. and come spring ... they will trigger out of what was left ...

and keep in mind.. with no insult to the root mass ... you might be surprised .. how fast they grow next summer ...

do not give them a haircut ....

timing is important.. as you dont want to do it now.. and have those buds trigger.. when basically .. the plant is supposed to be going down for winter ...

i used to do it in late october.. early ....nov.. if for no other reason ..... i could put on my suit of armor l.. to protect my hands .. arms. legs ... etc .. from the thorny work ... you can take big loping shears ... and go at it... but dragging huge branches around.. can be injury prone ... ergo ... imo ... start near the top wherever.. using hand shears .. and just methodically go at it.. until you are donw to the big cuts ...

just have faith ... yours is growing like a weed.. and a little pruning never really kills a weed ... lol ...

ken

1818 Federal,

I have pruned Double Knockouts to the ground with no problem... 12 inches is nothing...lol

I cut this D. Ko to the ground in April...Here it is today...I also cut like 5 other ones to ground...All growing back fine...