Monty Don urges gardeners to prune roses ‘now’ or risk tangled mess (Image: Getty)
Leaves have begun to fall and gardens are beginning to lose their colour as the UK moves into the colder months of the year.
Whilst many may think there’s not much to complete in the garden in October, there’s actually plenty, including .
Pruning at the correct time of year is crucial, and this means pruning climbing now.
Each variety of rose needs to be trimmed and cut at the correct time of year, so make sure you know what variety you have.
Sharing advice in an October blog post, wrote: “Prune climbing roses now. Climbing roses flower on shoots grown in the same spring so they can be pruned hard now.
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“Rambling roses on the other hand produce their flowers on shoots grown on the previous summer so should only be pruned immediately after flowering.
“Start by removing any damaged or crossing growth or any very old wood which can be pruned right back to the ground.
“The main stems should be fanned out at an equidistance as horizontally as possible, tying them to wires or a trellis.
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“Then all the side shoots growing from these main stems, which produced this year’s flowers, can be reduced to a short stub of a couple of leaves.”
Monty said the effect should be a “tracery of largely horizontal growth” with prune side shoots running along their length.
Once pruned, make sure it is all tied in firmly to avoid any winter damage such as wind, snow or rain.
Other plants which can be pruned in October include fruit bushes, summer-fruiting raspberries and deciduous hedges.
Make sure to always use clean secateurs when making cuts to avoid disease when it comes to any plant.
It’s also important to cut at an angle to avoid disease and to create a surface for water to run off.