The advice that I was given long ago is that early spring care should start when the forsythia bushed start to show color. Of course, there is some flexibility in this, but when you see the
forsythia in spring bloom (probably late April), you should feel fairly confident that you can start to remove some of the winter protection. Do not be fooled by warm "teaser" days in early spring and uncover roses too soon and have them frozen back to ground level by a sudden heavy freeze. Removal of winter protection, clean-up, and spring pruning should done gradually over a period of 2-3 weeks.

Removing Winter Protection

   Assuming that you mounded at least the lower part of your modern type roses with several inches of soil or other protection, I would leave most of this protections in place until late April and do an initial pruning of what appears to be definitely winter-damaged canes (black canes or where there isn't any white or green color showing on the inside of the cane when you do the
initial cutting). Then around early May, gradually remove the rest of the winter protection and prune further if necessary.

Reasons for Pruning

   There are three basic reasons to prune:  (1) to encourage new plant growth;  (2) to remove
excess, spindly, or dead wood; and (3) to improve air circulation and reduce disease. Tools and supplies needed for pruning include: thorn-resistant gloves; a pruning saw to get into places where clippers or loppers will not work; Felco or similar scissors-type pruners; lopping shears for
extra large canes that may need removal; and Elmer's or similar white glue for sealing canes to keep borers out.

Methods of Pruning 

   Here you need to make a decision. Do you prefer large masses of bloom or fewer, larger blooms?  I can recall a comment many years ago from Gene O'Leary (a Consulting Rosarian, a Horticultural Judge, and outstanding exhibitor at the New England Rose Society Rose Shows)
that "the new cane on which the bloom will come will never be bigger than the cane from which it came." Therefore, I have generally adopted a strategy of not being afraid to "fairly hard prune" modern type roses in the spring. The heavier the new cane the bigger the future bloom is likely to be.
   Cut canes at a 45 ºangle about ¼" to ½" above an outward facing bud eye (that little lighter
colored growth on the outside of the cane/stem). New canes should grow outward from the center of the bush to allow for better air circulation and to reduce fungus type diseases

Pruning for Specific Classes of Roses

Hybrid teas and grandifloras:  Light.  If the bush was not cut back last fall, just remove the
upper one quarter or so from what the bush was last year.  This will give you more blooms, but on less sturdy canes.  Moderate.  Prune to 4 to 6 canes, 18" to 24" high.  This will give you good general display in the garden with blooms of moderate size.  Heavy.  Prune to 3 or 4 canes (for many of us this may be the maximum number of canes that we have), to 12" to 18" high if you want a limited number of larger and showy blooms.

Miniatures:  Prune back to about one half to two thirds of their normal height for a good display of blooms.  If you prefer exhibition type blooms, cut back to four to six inches.

Climbers:  Limit spring pruning to possibly removing some of the oldest and weakest canes and suckers.  Retain four to five of the more vigorous canes.  A recent recommendation that I received for climbers is to bend and tie the canes to the trellis so that they are in a semi-horizontal (about 60 to 70 degree angle from the ground) rather than in a vertical position.  This will give you more blooms on climbers as the blooms come from the laterals growing out from the sides of each of the heavy canes. 

Floribundas and shrubs: These need very little pruning.  Cut  out dead canes or canes that cross over each other and trim back enough to keep the bush within reasonable bounds.

Old Garden Roses:  Once-blooming roses should not be pruned in the spring. Thin out older and heavier canes and cut back to keep in bounds in July after they have had their annual June bloom cycle.  If OGR type roses are pruned back in the spring, you may lose part of the June bloom.

After Initial Spring Pruning

Seal cuts on canes of a pencil size or greater with Elmer's white  (add food coloring if desired) glue to reduce potential cane borer damage.  Also, do the same thing when cutting off blooms
during the summer.  Cane borers can cause severe damage or even kill some canes.

Apply a combination fungicide, insecticide and miticide spray to both the bushes and the
surrounding soil areas after pruning or after the leaf bud eyes start showing.  This will help
reduce the carryover of disease and insect problems from the prior year.

Apply a granular type fertilizer (ie: 10-10-10) in early May when the soil has started to warm up.  If it has been a dry spring, water the garden well before applying this fertilizer.