Gardening expert Monty Don explained that September is a key time for pruning roses – and shared his top tips for a quick and easy trim that will ensure the plants flourish next year
Gardening ace Monty Don has dished out top tips for rose care, highlighting September as a key month to give your roses a snip to promote dazzling displays next season.
As the autumn chill begins to creep in, Monty Don, of BBC’s Gardeners’ World fame, advises eager green thumbs to seize September for a light prune of their rose bushes. Keeping the pruning light is important to ready the roses for winter.
“I know that some gardeners are anxious about pruning roses but the many shrub varieties such as the gallicas, ‘English’ roses, albas or hybrid perpetual are best simply trimmed with shears any time this month,” he shared on his site.
For peak upkeep, Monty instructs trimming off roughly one-third: “Do not worry about the position or angle of the cuts but clip away all long, straggly shoots as though you were trimming a hedge, leaving a compact, slightly domed bush that is about two-thirds of its former size.” Why do experts recommend September for rose pruning?
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Contrary to the well-established spring schedule for major rose pruning, experts including Monty suggest that a milder trim at this juncture can work wonders for the plants’ health. The theory is that a September sprucing can stave off stress and set roses up for robust growth come spring, unveils the Mirror. Now’s the time to get snippy with your roses!
Monty, our gardening guru, has shared his top tips for autumn rose care. The key is to stop your blooms from squandering energy on those tired, faded petals, redirecting their vim and vigour into gearing up for winter instead.
With leaves starting to fall, it’s the perfect opportunity for your roses to hunker down and focus on building robust roots before they burst back to life in spring.
Monty dished out his wisdom, saying: “In March when you can see clearly without any foliage, you can inspect the shrub to remove any damaged or rubbing stems, but a simple shear in September is enough to keep it healthy and packed with flowers next year.”
It’s easy-peasy most rose bushes just need a quick tidy-up lasting 10 to 20 minutes. Grab your secateurs and gloves (you don’t want to get nipped by those thorns), as recommended by the Express, and off you go.
Kick things off by deadheading the process of nipping off spent flowers while keeping the greenery intact. Rein in any straggly stalks to preserve your bush’s poise and prevent it from toppling over in a gusty gale.
While you’re at it, snip away any sickly-looking wood; give your bush a light thinning if it’s looking too lush to encourage air circulation. And once you’ve finished playing barber, be sure to clear away the trimmings to deter pests and stop fungal fiends in their tracks.
A bit of upkeep now guarantees roses stay stunning through autumn and come out robust and blooming after winter’s chill.
