Typically, we use Valentine’s Day as the holiday to remind us to prune roses in your North Florida landscape; even the hardier knockouts and drift roses. 
It's not the end of the world to prune them well into March - but Valentine's Day signals the starting line for getting them set up for spring's success. We recommend pruning off any twigs and stems that are dead, diseased, injured or spindly. This provides more of the plant's energy to flush out and bloom rather than trying to rejuvenate dead branches. Bring the overall height of the main stems down anywhere from half to a third - sometimes even more drastically if you've missed a few prunings. This hard pruning improves the shape of the shrub and improves air circulation for the plant. Beautiful rose flowers will abound in late April to early May.

The second holiday we use as a reminder for rose pruning is Labor Day. This isn't a drastic cut and is more shaping and selectively pruning struggling branches - but this allows the plant to continue blooming in your Gainesville lawn through the fall.