Funny you should ask. :)

I was just outside marveling at how well my Duchess had come along. I gave her and Madam Schwartz a pretty good pruning at the beginning of the week. I didn't have time earlier in the year. I'm in zone 8 N. FL. and everything else is blooming pretty well but these gals were sulking.

They are both relieved to be rid of that unproductive wood and old leaves. It improved air circulation. They look much more relaxed, refreshed, happy and healthy for it and have both put forth many pretty new soft leaves and flower buds.

If you go out and even just cut away all the dead wood and leaves and clean them up it will help them. Then you can take a look and decide if you want to even them out.

Just speaking from personal experience, it worked so well on the first 2 I've been out there cleaning plants up all day. It's a good way to get to know them up close and personal.

Sammy,
Are your gardens likely to have good rainfall for the next two months and temps below 90s?
There are times (all other things being equal) when the plants want to grow and times governed by temperature and dryness when they don't.
I've been out removing Poison Ivy from underneath a big roxbergii and I am seeing more new growth this spring than ever before. But, comparing this year to the past two, the past two were drought by April. This year we've been having an inch of rain, on average, every week. And it makes a difference. Last year, drought meant no new growth to speak of and the plants didn't show much recovery from the freeze.
All you can do is base your decisions on your seasonal averages. And hope.

Sammy, thanks for the email heads-up. We didn't get the ice storm you did but what we had was over 12" of heavy snow in March that did serious damage to some of the mature roses. I have cut out the deadwood on most (Duchers excluded) and the more serious damaged canes. I think you have to go bush by bush and have patience to see what comes back and make your decision later as to balance. The Duchers suffered more damage than most and it laid the bushes down and broke them open in the middle. Not such a bad thing to my way of thinking as it opens the middles up to light they haven't see in years. I'm seeing significant new growth in the middle of each and will prune accordingly to the outsides as I have time. I say don't rush it..time will be on your side and drought hasn't been a problem in our area for the past year and going forward at least for the remainder of our spring..thankfully.

I get so busy that I delay too long to say thank you.
Garden 2 garden, you suggest cutting the dead wood and I have done that. I think I will also wait to see what happens.

Ann, thank you. I will count on the rain, but not temps under 90. I think I saw that it is 86 today, and that is getting hot. I won't hesitate to water though.

Kaye, thank you so much for posting. I am so sorry that your "Signature Roses" have been badly damaged. You have a great attitude about it, but then, what are our choices. I think it will be good for me to just remove the dead wood, and watch to see what happens. I have had quite a bit of damage in the past couple of years, and have waited to remove the dead wood, so it looks like there is more damage from the ice storm than there really is.

It is so hard to keep up this time of year. I had the front of my house cared for, and went to the back. Now a couple of weeks later there are all kinds of weeds that have crept up in the front.

Thanks again

Sammy

About damaged tea canes:
My teas don't fit where they are planted. Full stop. I planted them as if they would be small bushes.
So I have canes that are where the lawnmower goes. When I mow, I'm slow near them but sometimes DH is flying around the property without due respect for the teas. So, nuf said to explain how I have experience with damaged tea wood. (Eventually the teas become a canopy above the riding lawnmower and its commander.)
I've seen that teas can live and thrive with four inch longitudinal breaks down the canes, even where the 'elbows' are. I've seen canes survive for years with the cane half broken in two at those elbows.
I've wondered why some of this strength couldn't be passed along and selected for with the HTs.

Ann, your comments about the teas are very interesting. I find that my initial reaction is to purchase a variety of roses, and try to treat them all like I was taught to treat modern roses.

I am tempted to make cuts in places that I think are "good for the rose" rather than to wait and see how the rose reacts.

Sammy

Sammy,
after years of attending several different modern-rose oriented rose societies in three different states, I got
'other' kinds of roses and about twelve years ago started seeing real differences from class to class. Then I started ignoring what everybody said locally about how all roses should grow. I started watching the roses.
The roses do know what's best for them.