Pruning now would encourage new growth. Then when we get a hard freeze they would get damaged. You don't really want to feed them with anything containing nitrogen this time of year either. The best thing to do is to let them go until after they go dormant, then prune hard. If it never gets cold enough for them to go completely dormant, when the weather gets cold enough for them to stop growing and blooming is a good time. Course even up here around Fort Worth, there have been years when my roses continued blooming right through the winter. If that's the case, you'll want to prune late Spring or just before the weather starts to warm up again. Cheryl

The rose gurus recommend that roses not be pruned in the fall because pruning stimulates new grow that could be damaged by winter freezes, damaging the plant as well.

The recommended times for pruning roses is mid Feb. and August. I've always adhered to that advice that I gathered from the San Antonio Rose Society, but have wondered if in the mild winters we usually have the advice is valid. It may pertain more to colder climates or extra cold winters.

Another big 'however' is -- Knockout roses are so strong and vigerous that I doubt very much that they would be harmed.

So that's the scoop as I know it anyway. Maybe some others have actual experience with pruning roses in the fall. Happy gardening!

I have some Knockouts that have gotten was too tall for the place they are in, but I am going to wait until spring to trim them as they are not causing any harm. Just looking a little messy is not enough reason for me to go against the rules.

That being said, I have trimmed a rose in the fall. I had a James Galway rose that was getting WAY too big last fall (hanging over the sidewalk, hitting people in the head), so I trimmed off about a foot or so. There were some canes that froze a bit, but I didn't trim as much as I wanted, so in late February, I cut the rose back a lot more.

Of course, here in Texas, you never know how severe our winters will be. So, if you can wait until spring, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks for the common sense answers. I'll wait until spring to prune. I don't want to harm my roses. Best wishes.

I'm in north SA, and I've found February to be too warm some years, with Knock-Outs already putting out new growth. I prune them in January.