All posts tagged: prune

Gardener shares best time to prune shrubs and climbing roses for perfect blooms

Gardener shares best time to prune shrubs and climbing roses for perfect blooms

Published by skeptic

When is the cut-off point to shrub prune roses? While it remains important to gardeners to know when is the best time it all depends on the location and the type of rose that you’ve planted. For shrub roses late winter or early spring is the perfect time to prune them. Of course, yet again it does depend on where you live and the species of rose. So this will vary from gardener to gardener and it could happen anytime from February to early April. The expert recommends after the last frost but just as the new rose buds are beginning to swell. Of course, we can’t predict the weather, especially in the UK but if you look at the rose stems it will help give guidance. Some gardeners may feel it is too late but pruning in early April is often the best time. While pruning promotes growth in the plant it is good news so long as the frost has passed. When is the best time to prune climbing roses? It seems like …

Is Labour about to prune its plan to boost workers’ rights? | Labour

Is Labour about to prune its plan to boost workers’ rights? | Labour

Published by skeptic

In his pre-election budget last Wednesday, Jeremy Hunt rehearsed a new attack line against Labour, alongside familiar arguments on tax and spend: Keir Starmer’s party would, the chancellor said, “destroy jobs”. Remarks fed to newspapers in advance of Hunt’s moment in the spotlight talked of the “70 new burdens on employers” that Labour would impose. It was a sign that the Conservatives hope to turn Labour’s plans for increasing workers’ rights – championed by the deputy leader Angela Rayner – into a problem for the party, potentially stoking internal pressure for the proposals to be watered down. Rayner toured Scottish constituencies over a weekend last month, as part of a UK-wide push to put workers’ rights front and centre of Labour’s pitch for the general election. Candidates and campaigners in seats across the country turned out, brandishing placards highlighting the “New Deal for Working People”. But some of the policies behind the promise to “make Britain work for working people” are starting to draw the fire of business leaders. And after the drastic pruning of …

UK Gardeners Urged To Prune Roses ASAP

UK Gardeners Urged To Prune Roses ASAP

Published by skeptic

As we leave winter and a mild, warm spring kicks in, you might have noticed your garden coming back to life. While many have enjoyed the lack of gardening tasks over the colder months, others will rejoice in the return of backyard chores: and, as always, pruning is high on the agenda. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) says that in general “late winter (February or March) is often a good time for pruning roses.” Though different species have different needs, most species respond to pruning during “late winter when growth is just resuming.” Rambling roses are one notable example; these are best pruned in the summer. Why prune roses in late winter? In short, pruning roses (as with pruning other plants) encourages more growth. “Cutting back hard will promote the strongest growth, while light pruning will result in less vigour,” Gardeners World says. So trimming your plants just before their springtime bloom will help to ensure bountiful beauty; and because your plants are bare and blossom-free after winter, it’ll be easier to shape and plan …

Gardening in February: what to plant, prune and tidy in your garden this month

Gardening in February: what to plant, prune and tidy in your garden this month

Published by skeptic

Fruit trees  There is still time to plant other fruit trees. My favourite fruit is dwarf quince, perfect for a small garden, which blossoms voluptuously in spring and fruits throughout autumn. Mine is ‘Lezcovacz’, from Blackmoor Nurseries (blackmoor.co.uk). What to sow  Turnips  When turnips are picked young they are nutty and sweet. Easy to grow, they are suited to our conditions. Sow early varieties such as ‘Tokyo Cross’ and ‘Purple Top Milan’ into the ground now and cover with a cloche. Lettuce  Sow lettuces under cover now and you will have fresh leaves in May and June. It is still a good idea to choose hardy winter types such as ‘Valdor’, ‘Winter Gem’ and ‘Reine de Glace’. Plant them out under cloches once they are a few inches tall. Flowers  I am making a sowing of my favourite and most dependable hardy annual cut flowers – Cornflower ‘Blue Boy’, Calendula ‘Indian Prince’ and Ammi majus – in the greenhouse this week, so that they are decent sized plants by the time the weather and soil warms …