Question
I need to prune my mother's climbing Paul's Scarlet rose right away.  She'd told me it was supposed to be done in February (southern western Tennessee), but we've had snow and ice for all of that month!  
         How and when do I need to do this?  
         I also gave her a double knockout rose.  Is it complicated?
         Thank you very much.
Perry Burrows

Answer
Don't be concerned if you didn't prune the climber in February. Rose books always scare you into the so called right time to prune a rose. With all this weird weather we are having, there are no rules for pruning roses. Paul's Scarlet is a hardy rose so you can go out now and prune it. Frosts, or even a light snowfall won't cause any problems to the rose as spring is starting. Climbers are usually grown where they are wanted to show off their flowers. They really don't need to be pruned too hard, only enough to keep them in their allotted space. So cut back any canes that are getting in the way and also any dead or diseased ones. Then cut the whole climber back by about two feet and give it a  cup of any rose fertilizer sprinkled all around the base. What you are doing is just tidying the rose up. It isn't like a bush rose that has to be pruned more severely.  
People are saying that the Double Knock Out rose is much better than the single Knock Out one, so you won't have any trouble at all. Just plant it in the ground, sprinkle any rose fertilizer around the base and that is all you will have to do until next year.Next spring cut it back by about a third, fertilized it and you are good for another season.