Henhouse said:It killed me to cut back some of mine, but I've got too much to prune to wait. Somewhere along the line, I read, or was told that the roses needed a period of dormancy.. Even if forced by pruning. I think it's going to be an early spring here...
Sherry ... that was the common belief when I lived in San Diego, but since then, I've decided to let the plants tell me what they want.
I think that theory may have come about because a lot of rose shows are in the spring and exhibitors found that they had a stronger spring flush, if they let the roses rest for a few weeks/months. I don't think it applies so much to those of us who grow roses just because we love them.
Some roses will stop blooming and form hips, but that's just the rose doing its own rose thing.