My tess of the d'urbanvilles (spelt wrong) has at least 50 buds on it.. Did no expect that in its second year (one gallon purchased last year) it got huge in just a few weeks.

Lavender Lassie is becoming monsterous. At least 80 buds..I may have not pruned it too hard so it grew really fast.

Will definitely be posting some pictures when they are in bloom. Question though - if I pruned earlier this spring, then new growth came from the old wood and now (after all this new growth) I decided I should have pruned more hard... Is that possible? Or can I only prune the new wood now that new wood grew from the old wood? I have all austins, with the exception of probably 4. I'm afraid if I prune old wood back after all the new growth came from it I will mess it up.

Thanks!

Drew

Are you sure you want to do more pruning? I'm not sure DA roses, as a rule, like drastic pruning. For the early spring pruning of my DA roses, I just prune out brown/dead canes, any diseased-looking canes, and any canes in the center that are crossing each other too closely and rubbing against each other. Then I shape the over-all bush a little bit, sometimes giving it a light "haircut" all over.

I have seen some posts occasionally about some Austins not liking strong pruning. I also remember reading in a DA catalog that David Austin recommends mid-summer pruning to keep the size of the large bushes under control--but I don't think he meant any drastic cutting back.

Perhaps others with more pruning experience can add some helpful advice here.

Looking forward to your pics. Third year usually works like a charm for shrub roses.

Kate

:-)

~Christopher