When To Prune Confederate Rose Plants

Q: I have five Confederate rose plants and the stems are not yet dead. Should I
prune it down anyway?

A: I did an experiment a couple of years ago. I left my stalks in place all
winter. To my surprise, the stems did not die all the way to the ground but did
die down to three feet high. New growth came from that spot and below,
yielding an interesting shape to the plant. You can choose whatever you want
to do with the stems. If stems are green, you can cut foot-long sections and
root them in a small bucket of water.