Gardeners' World: Monty Don outlines how to prune roses

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Gardeners’ World lead host Monty Don returned on Friday for the third instalment of the 2022 series of the show. On the programme, Monty shared seasonal jobs for the weekend, how to plant rocket and how to prune roses. The 66-year-old said he is finishing up pruning the last of his roses.

He explained: “Roses can be pruned anytime between autumn and mid-spring.

“But whenever you prune roses, don’t be frightened of them. They’re tough.”

The particular variety Monty was pruning is called “Madame Hardy” and is what is known as a shrub rose.

This variety is very fragrant with bright white, cupped flowers.

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Monty said pruning this variety now will “maximise the flowers”.

He then shared his method for pruning the roses.

He said: “So the first thing to do is to remove any dead growth.

“The next thing to do is to remove any branches that are noticeably crossing or rubbing.

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“Now these two, for example, are crossing and they’re going to rub and that will cause a wound and that’s where you can get possible infection.”

Monty cut down one of the stems right down to the end.

Next, he advised gardeners to take off any really weak growth.

Weak growth often looks spindly and need to be pruned to encourage new growth.

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Monty continued: “Next thing to do is open it out a little bit if it’s crowded.

“The whole thing can be reduced by about half.”

Monty cut above any buds he saw but advised viewers not to be “precious” about cutting back hard.

The gardening expert removed more stems from the “crowded” plant to create room for new growth and flowers.

He added: “Finishing pruning your roses is something you do want to get on with.

“Just cut them back, let plenty of light and air in and you will have a mass of flowers this summer.”

Rose bushes that are left unpruned will grow tall and spindly which looks less attractive.

They are also more vulnerable to the elements, such as wind, and can become loosened in the soil.

Gardeners’ World is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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