2 days Ago By Samantha Masters
Monty Don has issued a warning about the important steps of pruning roses and why tangled up stems shouldn't be ignored. The 69-year-old Gardeners' World star stresses that in order to complete the task correctly, you must firstly know the difference between a climbing rose and a rambling rose. Climbing roses are a popular variety of roses known for their ability to grow vertically and cover structures like trellises, walls, fences, or arbors.
They're ideal for adding a vertical element to gardens and landscapes and can transform bare walls or structures into vibrant, colourful displays. Rambling roses typically refer to a type of rose known for their vigorous growth and sprawling habit. They are characterized by their long, flexible canes and ability to climb over structures like trellises, fences, or other plants, often reaching considerable heights.
As well as this, they usually produce clusters of small to medium-sized flowers and are often only once-flowering, blooming profusely in a single period during late spring to early summer. However, some varieties may offer repeat blooms. Monty warned that if you were to prune a rambler at this time of year, there would be no flowers next year.
"The time to prune ramblers is after they've finished flowering, usually about July or early August," he shared during the latest episode. For a climber, he told viewers to remove all of the excess growth grown this year and get back to the framework. "Set it up so when it starts to grow next year it'll be in good shape to carry those new shoots which in turn will carry the flowers," Monty added.
While getting rid of the side shoots, Monty also advised cutting just above the buds when pruning. Should you find that some stems cross over, he stressed: "You want to try and avoid that as much as possible because they will rub against each other and form wounds and calluses and that's where you can get problems." The expert went on to advise green-fingered enthusiasts to renew the climbing roses with one or two new stems every year "so over about five to 10 years, you totally renew the rose and that keeps it vibrant and keeps it fresh.
" Displaying one of his year-long growths to the camera, he stressed: "If you don't prune it, it becomes an impenetrable tangle and then that could make pruning tricky." Pruning roses is an important gardening task that helps promote healthy growth, encourages more blooms, and maintains the shape and structure of the rose bush. In most climates, the best time to prune roses is in late winter or early spring when the plant is still dormant but the threat of a hard frost has passed.
Some light pruning can be done in the summer to remove dead flowers and weak growth..
