Craig Wilson, co-founder, director and in-house gardening expert at Gardeners Dream, told Express.co.uk: “As the winter chill sets in, it’s time to don the gardening gloves for one of the most crucial tasks in the gardeners’ calendar, pruning.
“While the rest of the garden takes a well-deserved rest, this is the perfect opportunity to shape and prepare your plants for the upcoming spring.
“From the cascading beauty of wisteria to the classic elegance of roses, each plant requires a unique touch.
“Here are my top tips on pruning a selection of popular garden staples, ensuring they not only survive but thrive in the coming seasons.”
1. Wisteria
Wisteria is a gorgeous climbing plant, known for its colourful blue, pink or white flowers.
According to the expert, regular pruning ensures better control of the plant and more “prolific blooming”.
Craig noted: “In mid-winter, cut back the side shoots, shortened in the previous summer, to two or three buds from the base to enhance the plant structure and focus energy on the formation of spring flowers.
“You’ll then want to remove any unwanted or excessive growth, especially around windows and gutters to maintain the shape and control the size of the plant.”
2. Roses
The gardening expert continued: “Roses are classic garden favourites, celebrated for their blooms and fragrances. Pruning roses helps to stimulate growth, I’d also recommend shaping your roses to encourage outward-facing blooms.
“In late winter or early spring, cut out any dead, damaged, or diseased wood, and prune back the remaining branches to an outward-facing bud to shape the bush and promote outward growth.
“Follow this by opening up the centre of the bush by removing any inward-growing branches. This will help to improve air circulation and light penetration, reducing the risk of disease and encouraging healthy blooms.”
3. Clematis
Clematis are found in many UK gardens, loved for their beautiful, large flowers. Britons need to check which group their plant falls into before picking up the secateurs, according to Craig.
If you have a group two plant, these are the early to mid-season flowering varieties that bloom on both old and new wood, so need to be pruned lightly in late winter or early spring.
The expert said to make sure to remove dead or weak stems, whilst also cutting back the remaining stems to a strong pair of buds to encourage robust new growth and flowering.
Chris continued: “When dealing with group three clematis, these are the ones that bloom in late summer on new growth and can be pruned back hard each year.
“You should prune them back hard in late winter. This means cutting back all the previous year’s stems to a pair of strong buds about 15 to 30cm above ground level, which will promote a flush of new growth and a profusion of blooms.”
