Taking roses in hand

Entire books have been written about pruning roses, but truth be told they usually flower well enough regardless of what you do.

Where pruning does pay off is in the health and overall appearance of your plants.

Now is the time of year for giving most roses their main cut, just as you see the first signs of fresh growth appearing on their branches.

If you do it any later than early March you won’t cause any harm but will likely delay the flowering time.

Most bush roses can be happily cut by half and it’s always worth taking off at least the top third.

Doing this rejuvenates the whole plant, creating new branches that as the season progresses will become covered in flowers and leaves. If roses are left uncut over a period of years you end up with a lot of unattractive old wood, with flowers and foliage mostly limited to the top of the plant.

Cut directly above the new shoots and pay attention to which direction they are starting to grow. Your cut will make that shoot the new ‘leader’ of the branch, so you want to cut above ones that are heading outwards.

If you have too many branches growing in the centre of the plant it gets congested, leading to problems with fungal disease.

You also don’t want branches growing into each other as they will rub each other raw, giving opportunities for disease to get into the plant.

New growth will follow the direction of the shoot you cut above, so choose ones heading away from other branches

Don’t be afraid to cut out any old woody branches that are cluttering up the centre of the plant, even if you need to use loppers or even a saw.

Similarly, weak branches are better off being cut back hard to  encourage stronger regrowth.

Patio roses and carpeting roses often hold their blooms in clusters at the ends of branches  - it is easiest to simply cut below these clusters rather than fiddle around deciding what and where to cut.

The main branches of this climbing rose were bent horizontally, stimulating the growth of a large number of vertical shoots, all of which then bore flowers, as below

Climbing roses should have their main branches left long and carefully fanned out horizontally and tied-in.

You can effectively create a framework using wires secured to your wall or fence with special screws called vine eyes. Have all the wires running horizontally, at intervals of one to two foot.

Once you have tied in these main branches, cut back all the sideshoots on them to just a few inches.

Climbing roses naturally grow upwards, towards the light, and generally flower at the ends of vertical growth. If you leave your climbing rose to grow up of its own accord, you end up with a skinny plant with the few blooms all at the top.

By bending the branches you will stimulate new vertical shoots across their lengths, all of which should bear blooms. You will also get much better value from your rose as it will cover a much greater area!

To achieve the same effect on arches try to loosely wind the branches around the pillars rather than letting them head straight up.

Always check ultimate heights  of climbing roses as they can vary considerably.

· Order roses online at www.katiesgarden.co.uk