Grab your Shears and get Pruning

July means it’s time to prune your roses. The good news is that pruning is actually a very simple exercise.

Here’s our foolproof guide to pruning like a professional :

First things first: get all your equipment ready. Sterilise your secateurs in a solution of bleach and water. Rinse them well and dry with a cloth. Then sharpen them to allow easy snipping. Other items you’ll need are a pair of protective gloves, lime sulphur solution (diluted ten parts water to one part lime sulphur) in a spray bottle, and a sealant like Steriseal for the pruning cuts.

• Start by cutting away any dead or diseased stems.
• Next, cut away any weak growth that isn’t strong enough to support buds.
• Keep removing weaker stems until you have a vase-shaped bush with four or five strong stems.
• Cut these stems down to a height of approximately 80cm (30cm for the miniature varieties) and seal the cuts with a sealing paste.
• Spray the entire rose bush with lime sulphur solution. Spray again two weeks after pruning.

Note: Hybrid roses, tea roses and miniature roses should all be pruned this month, but rambling roses should only be pruned after they have flowered.