Goodground, the first select buds were eaten and new buds are sprouting anywhere. The tree has only so much energy stored so you want to remove those close to the ground asap. The top bud will be the strongest grower. Growth hormones go to the tips. After the branch has grown a few inches clip a wooden clothes pin above the 4-5 new select branches to train 'open vase'. Stick tie new branches so the don't flop over in a thunderstorm. Retard long green branches by removing the tip. Hormones will go to lower branches and also form new side branches where the tips were removed. Branch growth hormones come from the roots and root growth hormones come from the leaves. BR planted 1 yr. Superior with plums in footies and tanglefoot wrapping to deter squirrels. Squirrels climb into tanglefoot, flip off the tree and run in horror. Works good in a small tree instead of nets.

I am no expert but ALL of my floribundas make shrubs and I let them grow inward as well. I do watch them, but I have some HUGE bushes going now that grow all which ways. I was under the impression that only Hybrid Teas needed to be watched for outward facing buds and even that I slack on to keep a full, healthy looking plant, but I do things that work for me and usually they go against what everyone else suggests. Here is my Hot Cocoa and my Sexy Rexy (which has tripled in size this year over last and needed a bigger pot) taken this morning, for reference:

Pat, yes I think we are on the same page. The first year you get the plant, whether you plant it in the ground or in a pot, you can pinch the growing tips out to help encourage branching and side shoots (this is not severe pruning, this is pinching out growing tips). The next year, assuming the plant is a type II or I, you prune it as a type III, removing the old wood and taking the plant down to several nodes from the ground level, even though doing so means you might not get any blooms. If it is a type III, you prune it as a type III. Then after the plant starts putting out its new vines, you can always pinch out growing tips to encourage more side branches. Pinching out growing tips can be done on any plant in any year. You aren't removing old wood by doing this, but just removing the main shoot so that side axillary buds will break and form new shoots. As for your two vigorous ones which are type IIIs, then did you prune them back in the late winter/early spring. If so, then you are finished with what needs to be done. I still go around and pinch out growing tips on all my clematis as time allows however to promote side branching. My D of A was hard pruned in late December. That has not stopped me from going out at least twice now and pinching out growing tips to encourage side branching. Hope this clarifies it! :0)

I have to admit though that I was surprised by the amount of fruit on the plants this year. I would guess that the plants that were allowed to fruit their first year have 75% as many flowers the plants that were not allowed to fruit. I would have bet the % would be much less.