It’s the perfect time for pruning roses, but you may find yourself wondering just how best to do this for good growth come spring.
While there are plenty of methods available, B&Q experts recommend following their “principles of pruning” for the best blooms later in the year.
B&Q’s Adam Pasco posted his top tips for this prickly plant to YouTube, where commenters have praised the video as “the best video on pruning roses I have found.”
The horticulturalist began: “If you’ve got established roses in your garden, the end of winter into early spring is the time to prune them.”
Adam’s first tip, and the beginning of his “principles of pruning,” is to ensure you are wearing a good pair of gardening gloves and that you have invested in some good-quality garden shears.
“The thing to do when you’re pruning your roses is to look at the bush and work out where the flowers are going to fall.”
Demonstrating with a rosebush, he continued: “This rosebush has got the old flowers from last year at the top, and we’ve got to cut those away to encourage strong new growth, with the flowers this summer, probably June into July.”
He stressed the importance of looking for any deadwood on your bush, which you should then prune away before making your way to the dead roses. You should also prune away any dead leaves – especially those with black marks, to prevent this fungal disease from spreading further along the plant.
Adam continued: “Now we want to create a lovely open-shaped bush and avoid any inward crossing stems. so look at the bush and if you see any branches going inwards, prune those away to keep the centre open.”
While pruning, you should step back every now and then to check your work, and be sure to take your time so you avoid mistakes, as once something’s been pruned off, you won’t be able to put it back on the plant.
Once the centre of the bush has been opened, it’s time to remove any of the old flower stems and cutting back to a new bud. Adam explains: “What you’re trying to do is to find buds lower down the stem, which are pointing outwards.
“I’m going to make my cut just above that, slanting the shears so that you have a slanting cut just above the bud, at a slant, so that any rain falling on it will drain away, and from the the buds new life will grow.”