Expert gardener reveals how doing an easy task to climbing roses now can help encourage bigger, healthier blooms later this year
Expert gardener reveals how doing an easy task to climbing roses now can help encourage bigger, healthier blooms later this year(Image: Ekely via Getty Images)
With winter well underway and spring on the horizon, now’s the time to get your garden in shape. It’s crucial to tend to plants and flowers that’ll be bursting into life in the warmer months, and there are several jobs worth tackling now to ensure a stunning display later.
Gardening guru and TikTok creator Michael Griffiths has urged fellow plant lovers to focus on their climbing roses, which might be looking rather sparse. To boost growth for the year ahead, he recommends giving them a trim before winter’s out.
In a recent TikTok clip, Michael explained: “To get better blooms on your climbing roses this year, you need to give it a prune now.”
Cut back any dead, diseased or dying branches at the base of the plant(Image: Getty)
How to prune climbing roses
Start by cutting away any dead, diseased or dying branches. You can spot these by their black or brown colouring, unlike the healthy green stems, reports the Express.
Snip these right back to the plant’s base. You may also notice some weaker climbing branches.
These need removing too, as Michael warned they won’t be sturdy enough to support summer blooms. The expert also suggested tying stems or shoots together for extra support, securing them to the plant’s framework.
This helps stop the stems from snapping. The next step involves tackling side shoots, with Michael recommending trimming them back to two thirds of their original length at a 45-degree angle just above a bud.
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“This will encourage new shoots for the season ahead,” Michael explained.
He further suggested thinning out any particularly “congested” plants by removing aged branches at the plant’s base. Doing so prevents energy being siphoned away from fresh buds or thriving branches attempting to flower.
Describing climbing roses as “big eaters”, Michael emphasised that once pruning is complete, gardeners should apply a generous helping of fertiliser or mulch come spring to promote abundant blooms.
Gardeners’ World highlighted that late winter represents the optimal window for pruning most rose varieties, with the exception of ramblers, which require summer pruning instead. The publication noted: “Prune shrub and climbing roses between November and February; bush roses should be left until late winter, around February, but avoid pruning in freezing conditions.”
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