Not sure if it is the bright moon at the moment but the dawn is coming in earlier and I can sense the gentle change in the season. Of course, the weather will play havoc with us for the next month and more, but I can only see the positive side right now and I love it!!

Pruning might be a good idea today because I know many people are itching to get started and there is no reason why you cannot. I delay the pruning for as long as possible because I still pick bunches of 'winter roses' with their deeper shades.

There is another very serious cold front coming up so just be aware of this. Although roses like the cold, the new shoots can easily be burnt by severe frost and the growth can also be retarded by the cold.

This is how I go about my pruning and feeding.

I start off my pruning by removing half of the rose bush right across the middle. Go right through all the bushes then go back to the beginning and tidy up each bush by removing and cleaning out the middle, etc. Always cut above and close to the ‘eye’ and on an outside. The reason to cut on the outside is so that the new shoot will grow outwards and not inwards. This allows the rose to have good airflow through the stems.

Make sure your secateurs and tools are clean and sharp.
1. Prune and clean all dead wood off plants.

Around the bush sprinkle the following:
2. 1 cup of Epsom Salts
3. handful - super phosphate
4. handful – bone meal
5. handful – Vigerosa or 5:1:5
6. Cover roots with good compost and dig in well. This is the only time that roses do not mind if you dig around the roots.
7. Water thoroughly
8. Use mulch like Peanut Shells, dry grass/thatching or leaf mould a good 6 inches thick
9. I no longer use lime sulphur but I do spray with Ludwigs Insecticide spray (the organic one) which is canola oil and garlic. Brilliant.

Standard roses need to have their supports checked and renewed if they are a bit wonky. Buy good quality steel droppers and make 'figure eight' ties around the rose and stake just under the head of the rose, in the middle and near the bottom (3). Then wrap the step and dropper with strips of hessian about 4” thick. This should keep your standards tidy and supported through summer.

Also time to prune Hydrangeas and Clematis.

If you want large blooms on the Hydrangea then cut back about half the bush. If you want lots of smaller flowers then cut to about the third of fourth bud. Also depends on the age of the plant. The older plants can be cut back quite a lot as they will put good growth back during the season. The younger plants need to only to be cleaned and pruned moderately

Feed with Hydrangea food (blue or pink), Epson salts (Magnesium Sulphate), 5:1:5, super phosphate and cover with Acid compost. Also lots of pine needles or mulch.

Prune your grape vines, fruit trees and Wisteria now. I love to do Espaliered apples and it is such fun to prune these. Very easy because once you have trained the apples against the wall you just shorten the 'spurs' back to one or two buds off the main stem and this is where the blossoms will come and there will be bunches of apples in summer. Real fun to do!

Grape Vines also get cut back to the 'spurs' so you remove all the long trailing flimsy bits.

Wisteria has lots of long loose bits and they get removed back to the older wood and about now you can see where the new flowers are starting to fatten up, so don't cut these off. You can turn Wisteria's into stunning standard plants and with time the supports can be removed. During the summer they need to be cleaned up whenever you see the long bits as this is a rampant plant.

If pruning Clematis…….prune to just about the 1st or 2nd bud. Clematis Montana does not need to be pruned. This one will flower on the old wood and is the rampant one so leave well alone. Only Hybrid ones should be pruned. Give them a good feed of 5:1:5 and compost. Water well.
If in any doubt about this then I suggest you phone Marie Lambert in Pretoria and she will tell you exactly what to do. 082 682 1292

This is the time to let husbands loose in the garden with the secateurs.
Just remember DO NOT cut the spring flowering shrubs now e.g. Cape May, Philadelphus, Forsythia, Bansia roses, etc., otherwise there will be no show in spring. HAPPY PRUNING!!