Mark ... I don't know what "smh" means ...
Somehow, I knew you were going to say you watered them well recently.
The thing is, roses are survivors. They will do whatever it takes to keep the root mass alive so that when they finally get sufficient water, they can keep on keeping on. The stress probably occurred before you watered them.
The root mass may have even never dried out, but with the heat hitting the leaves and, if you are more inland in San Diego, the lower humidity on the top growth will trigger the rose to think it is water stressed and it won't send up sufficient moisture to support all of the leaves on the plant. (sorry for saying a plant "thinks").
The water stress signals for a rose don't only come from the root zone. There are a lot of factors that tell a rose to go into survival mode.
Smiles,
Lyn
