ash, in our zone you don't have to do much protecting. But don't cut them back now, they are not dormant yet and will start to grow and could be damaged by a hard frost. Wait until we get a very hard frost and temps are consistently low at night and not too warm during the day, probably the beginning of December. Then cut back by 1/2, just to keep the canes from blowing around in winter storms.

Sometime in February, you can do your spring pruning.

My roses are still blooming, believe it or not.

The best time to prune roses around here is late February. Here's a link to rose info from the Atlanta Rose Society.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rose Society