Monty Don warns gardeners must 'take action now' to avoid plant catastrophe

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

As the leaves start to fall, it's time to start preparing the garden for the colder winter months. And there's one important job that needs doing asap to avoid lasting winter damage, according to expert Monty Don.

Monty, 68, has urged gardeners to tackle one major task this month before the weather sets in. Writing on his blog he said: "Prune climbing roses.

Climbing roses flower on shoots grown the same spring so they can be pruned hard now." Pruning is essential if gardeners really want their roses to thrive.

Its purpose is to remove dead and dying branches and stubs, allowing room for new growth. Gardeners can do this by simply removing parts of the plant during the non flowering season. READ MORE: Exact date frost set to hit Manchester as all gardeners issued warning "Always use really sharp tools for pruning," Monty explained in an earlier post. "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.