I like roses that dead head themselves although they do leave that unattractive stem but at least you don't have to remove spent flowers. I'm all for less work. :-)
Alan, one time I had the bright idea of pruning in the summer to take advantage of the semi-dormant stage caused by the heat. It was hotter'n h...um, all get out, while I was doing it. The roses didn't seem to mind and I got a crop of long-stemmed beauties in the fall. All-in-all it wasn't worth the heat and effort as the roses would have started blooming nicely anyway. So, anyone tempted to prune in the summer, don't bother. Just keep the spent flowers off and give lots of water.
