MONTY Don has urged gardeners to prune a popular plant this October, to prevent it from getting damaged over the winter.
Summer may be well and truly over, but there are still plenty of jobs gardening fans can be getting on with, to protect their gardens from the harsh winter weather ahead.
Gardening legend Monty, 68, shared the important update to fans on his gardening blog.
Urging fans to tackle a major task, he said: “Prune climbing roses.
“Climbing roses flower on shoots grown the same spring so they can be pruned hard now.”
Pruning is essential to make sure that roses bloom next year, as it removes dead and dying branches, making way fro new growth in the spring
To prune your roses, simply cut back the old branches during the winter.
Monty advised: “Always use really sharp tools for pruning.
“Not only does it make life much easier but it also makes for much cleaner cuts and therefore causes less damage to the plant, sharp tools are also much safer.”
“Always use a tool that is operating within its capacity, so never strain.
“Use loppers for stems too thick for easy cutting with secateurs and a sharp saw for anything that strains loppers.”
The first thing you should do when pruning climbing roses, is remove any sign of damage.
The Gardener’s World presenter explained: “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.
“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.”
The Sun’s Gardening Editor, Veronica Lorraine, has shared the jobs you need to tackle in October.
“It’s a good time to trim deciduous hedges – like box, yew, hawthorn, hornbean and beech – plus hedge trimmers are a great upper body workout!
Make leafmould – gather up all the fallen leaves and fill either bin bags or plastic carrier bags. Seal the top, stick a few small holes in the bag – and then store for a year or more. Free compost!
It’s unlikely you’ll get any more red tomatoes so have one final harvest and chuck the plants on the compost. See if you can get the green ones to ripen by putting in a drawer (some say with a banana). Also keep the seeds from a couple – and plant again next year if they went well.
Finish getting in your spring bulbs. Ideally you’d have done daffs and alliums, but tulips are better in the ground when the soil temperature gets a bit colder.
It’s good to leave some plant litter in the ground – it adds to the nutrients as it rots down, and provides shelter and food for insects. But remove the manky brown bits collapsing all over the lawn/winter structure.
Mulch – it not only suppresses weeds, but keeps the soil warm, improves water retention and adds a little winter duvet to your outside space.
October’s a good month for carrots, peas, asparagus, broad beans, and rhubarb.”
When pruning the roses, it is vital to cut just above a bud, that points in the direction you would like your rose to grow.
Monty added: “The effect should be a tracery of largely horizontal growth with pruned side-shoots running along their length.
“Finally make sure it is all tied firmly in to avoid winter damage.”
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