Question
Saw your response to person asking about pruning Knockout roses down South.....Does this advice also apply to my 2 yr old KO roses in Philadelphia,PA?? Specifically, is it Ok to prune them now in January? [they're getting a bit out of control across the front of our home!]

Answer
Pruning a rose bush often will activate it into new growth so this is the reason  books tell you to wait until the spring when the rose would be starting to come back naturally. You can prune in January if you want to but just bear in mind that if the weather gets warmer and starts the roses into growth, and then it turns nasty, you could get die back on the canes. When a cane gets frozen and goes mushy inside, bacteria get in and continue to make the cane die back. I mention this because I am not aware of your weather at this time of year. I myself would cut them back now so they wouldn't trip up the delivery people and then prune again later on say in late February, if they continue to grow again. When these modern shrubs tend to get out of control, they only way to keep them at the height or size you want, is to prune them back again in the middle of summer. Also don't be generous with any fertilizer that has a high amount of nitrogen in it as this will make them into monsters. Try and keep the first number on the box very low such as 5. Knock Out roses really only need one main dose of fertilizer. Hope this helps.