Congested shrub roses

[Everythingsgroovy]

Would you remove crossing stems and congestion in the centre now or wait until early spring?

Maybe remove any dead or diseased stems now, and if there are any crossing branches which are rubbing against each other and causing damage to the bark, cut one out and leave the other.

Is it a variety with ornamental rosehips for autumn display? If so, then leave pruning to the absolute minimum.

I've always taken the tops off overly long branches on my roses in October or thereabouts, as it reduces the risk of wind rock in gales. Then you can prune as normal in the first half of February. The RHS website tells you how to prune different roses according to their type - shrub, climber etc.

Thank you.

I've just taken the tops off my overly tall rose - and put the flowers in a vase - to try and stop it rocking in the winds.

I'm always chopping my roses down whenever they look unwieldy or get covered in blackspot. Even did it to one a few weeks ago in the middle of a heatwave.
They always grow back.

This is reassuring 😊