Rosecats, I don't know where you are located, but our Golden Celebrations did not take well to "conventional" pruning. Not even very high conventional pruning.

Now, in addition to getting more water than most of our roses, they get nothing but deadheading.
They're pretty spectacular that way, growing as a hedge.

Jeri

I'm in zone 9, northern CA. Yes, GC seems to be very thirst & hungry! It sounds like this one should be pruned like a tea?

Rosecats - I did minimal pruning of my Golden Celebration last year. I left all the twiggy growth and removed only what dead wood there was. I added a top dressing of compost in late Feb. and again in July, and watered the rose far, far more frequently than the previous year (thanks to Jeri for this tip). GC started it's flush in late April, and to my surprise, it never stopped blooming until early December. I finally understood what "continuous blooming" means ! My GC is in the front garden and unprotected from winds that blow across from SF Bay, and GC with its twiggy branches intact actually suffered far less than in the previous year.

My story doesn't end too happily, though. I wanted to do much the same with GC this year, but the guy from the gardening service threw a wrench in the works. This guy probably thinks that I am unskilled in the task of pruning roses since he watched my "fumbling" efforts last year, and just last weekend he chopped down GC to a foot and half high. His pruning was classic textbook style and as far as pruning goes he actually did an excellent job. The only thing is, of course, that I didn't want GC pruned at all. I guess it's my fault for not reminding him again not to go near that rose....

OY! JOE! I am so sorry!
You, err . . . fired the dude?

Rosecats, yes.
It may behave differently elsewhere, but for us, GC seems best treated like a Tea.
And, FWIW, the older Austin, 'Prospero' does best for us if treated like a China.

Now that I simply have no room for more Austins, I am led to wonder what some of them might have been like, had I treated them in that manner.

Jeri

Jo, I gasped when I read how much your rose was chopped! Somebody once "helped" me with my yard, and without asking, weedwhacked 4 Sparrieshoops to below knee height!

Jeri, I had been somewhat on the right track w/ GC; although I've been nibbling on it more invasively that it sounds like you would, it's still over 4' tall. I guess I keep wanting to work on it a little more since the growth is a little lopsided, unlike my other Austins. I guess I'll compost a LOT & encourage growth that way!

I'd still love to hear how others manage Austins - if you prune as the catalog recommends, which is a fairly typical treatment for a modern rose, or if you treat them more like older roses.

Thanks again!

I'm pretty certain I ruined the health of my Golden Celebration and Redoute shrubs by pruning them down into more manageable size bushes. Both grew into substantially bigger shrubs than expected and bloomed nearly continually. but they were becoming gigantic: Redoute about 9ft high, arching and shrubby, GC low and arching, more of a shrub-climber 10ft wide. I gave Redoute substantial prunings 2 winters in a row, and it never bloomed much after that. GC lost all it's vigor after the first substantial pruning (tried to make it more shrublike after seeing a GC in someone's garden that was maintained at 3ft & was blooming beautifully). Well, my GC wasn't happy with that treatment at all and it became very susceptible to BS and pretty much never recovered its vigor. I let it drag on for a few more years, and finally SP'd it. Lastly, we are the proud owners of a Leander hedge that was planted way back in 1985, 11 years before we came here, and it's still going strong -- it was from Pickering in Canada as I was able to get the shipping invoice from the owner. 1985 is pretty early for Austin roses in California! The first nursery I knew of that carried Austins in Los Angeles was run by an English woman in Topanga Canyon in the early 1990's, but it's long gone. We let our Leanders be massive shrub-climbers and only do a big shaping every 3-4 years to control them. In fall, we mostly weave the branches back in to keep it shaped and prune out dead branches, then before the winter rains hit, we give it a manure fertilizing. These Leanders will be 25 years old this year!..So I guess I'm on the side of light pruning, at least for the biggy shrubby Austins. I really do miss Redoute -- the blooms were unbelieveaby beautiful and fragrant altho the bush was a bit rough and thorny.

I so wish I'd had this information sooner but I'm glad to have it even now. We have a Bishop's Delight that needed to be moved so I pruned it rather severely so it would be easier for my husband to deal with. Big mistake as far as the rose was concerned. Little wimpy canes grew out of the short big canes and the bloom was very sparse. It remains to be seen whether it recovers or starts a downhill slide, but I've definitely learned my lesson. I'm so glad this thread was started.

Ingrid

Oops! I just trimmed my James Galways heavily as they were getting too big for the place they're in. Thought they could be cut down and made a nice bush shape. Hope I haven't ruined them!

That also lets me know not to cut down Pat Austin. She has the thinnest canes - lots of blooms but they flat down in the dirt. Hopefully she will get stronger as she matures.

I probably have to eat crow - the same subject came up on the general rose forum, with approximately the same recommendations!

On another note, I think I asked my question too late for Gertrude Jekyll - she's in a container she doesn't want to be in & I pruned her more than a bit before putting her in the ground. Live & learn! I guess I'll give her lots of fertilizer & won't prune her next year!