Last year, I cut my roses down severely and they didn't seem to mind at all and have flowered profusely, making many new stems, which is a step in the right direction. The problem came in with the strange weather we had, it didn't rain at all until well into summer and then rained non-stop for about six weeks. So, the sunlight was poor and water was plentiful and there was a massive growth-spurt on the roses, and on my neighbour's tree, which blocked the available light as well so I trimmed the tree but was once again left with long, spindly roses.
Blooming madly six months ago
I have been so busy with other tasks that I didn't have time for pruning although it could have been done a month ago but I haven't watered them much so the buds were all still dormant.
The correct way to prune is to leave a space above the selected bud and also to look for buds that face outward so that they will not grow into the centre of the bush. If you look at the first picture, I now have a good shape and spread of branches although the side view doesn't show it well. There are also good young branches that have formed since last pruning. The air is still very dry and it won't rain for a while yet, so I don't bother with sealant on my cuts.
Now it's time to start watering and feeding my roses and make sure that the neighbour's tree doesn't get too out of hand