Gardening advice from Bridge Farm Plants – fruit bushes, clematis and roses

Find a gap in the weather to get your garden prepared for spring.
If you haven’t done so already make sure you get out and give Roses, summer-flowering Clematis and fruit bushes their annual prune.

CLEMATIS
Clematis are divided into three groups based on how and when they should be pruned.

Ideally any cutting should be done just above where strong new shoots are appearing. This should speed up new growth and encourage multiple stems, meaning the plant will bush out, leading to more coverage and more blooms.
It is worth doing this with any young Clematis regardless of their pruning code – you want the bushiness to start low down!

Early-flowering varieties (April/May), including montanas, alpinas, macropetalas can be tidied after flowering if desired, or just leave them to it!

Summer-flowering Clematis (May-July) – the normal, large-flowered varieties – can be tidied February/March when they start to reshoot. It can be worth cutting them back to stimulate leaves and flowers lower down the plant if it has been bare in previous years.

Late-flowering varieties (July-Sept), such as delicate viticellas, texensis and tanguticas should be cut back hard in February/March, to as little as 1ft. You will be amazed how quickly they grow in a season!

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ROSES
The aim of pruning is to have a clear, uncluttered centre, allowing air to circulate around the plant and reducing the chances of fungal diseases.

In your garden you will want to cut back your hybrid teas, floribundas and patio roses by roughly a third to a half, although they can be cut harder if they need rejuvenating.

First step is to remove any dead, damaged or weak stems.
If any stems are crossing, choose one to remove to avoid problems of stems rubbing against one another – this can damage the stems, leading to possible infection.

Next, look for strong new shoots and cut just above these.

New growth will be in the direction the new shoot is facing (demonstrated by arrows on photo), so always try to cut above outward facing buds: you are trying to keep the centre of the plant clear!

As a finishing touch treat your Rose to a feed of manure or other fertiliser.

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FRUIT BUSHES
The clock is ticking to give fruit bushes their annual prune. Many of the principles are the same as rose pruning: cut out dead, dying, diseased and weak stems to base.

The aim is to have an uncluttered centre so other stems might need thinning out too.
Gooseberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants usually crop best on stems that are two or three years old, so anything older can be removed.

Autumn fruiting raspberries couldn’t be easier: just cut down everything to the ground. Summer raspberries are best cut after fruiting.

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For healthy plants and helpful advice head to Bridge Farm Plants at Corn Craft, Monks Eleigh.
Open 10am-4pm Weds-Sun.
www.bridgefarmplants.co.uk