"Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet"

This coming Valentine's Day is a good reminder that now is the time for winter pruning your roses to get them ready to come into growth. I've been working with the team at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens pruning their rose garden - and what a satisfying job it is to do! Make sure your secateurs are absolutely clean and sharp before you start - remove all the sticky residue with wire wool, sharpen them up with a diamond file before spraying with a good garden disinfectant (like Citrox or Hortisept Pro). For established shrub roses remove all the dead, dying, diseased, damaged, crossing and rubbing stems and aim for well-spaced stems that allow free air flow. You can't go wrong by shortening the remaining stems by between a third and a half - go in harder the more vigorous the plant. Newly planted roses can be cut back much harder to encourage new vigorous growth. With larger stems use a good quality pruning saw or loppers (following the same hygiene routine) and don't be tempted to strain your secateurs. I'm using Uncle Tom's Rose Tonic ordered from The Rose Society UK to give my roses a feed and don't forget to add a generous layer of garden compost mulch round your plants too. Feeding and mulching will keep your roses strong and help them fend off pests and diseases