Nick Bailey's guide to March pruning

Our gardens really spark back into life this month. Bulbs are emerging, perennials are producing fresh growth and deciduous plants are sprouting new leaves. As the days get noticeably longer and the mercury rises, our gardens and their inhabitants are warming up for the season ahead.

In colder parts of the UK, there’s still time to prune apples, pears and late summer-flowering clematis (Group 3), but in warmer areas it’s getting too late. Climbing roses, hybrid teas and floribundas are still fine to prune, but the sooner the better, so they don’t waste their energy growing leaves that will be pruned off. Borderline-tender perennials, such as penstemons and phygelius, can be pruned too.

But the key plants to prune this month are evergreens and shrubs that flower on this year’s growth, such as buddleias. Check them for birds’ nests first, and leave alone if nests are in use.

• Your spring pruning jobs
• Prune shrubs for more flowers
• March pruning with Frances

March is one of the busiest months for pruning, with a wide range of trees, shrubs and other plants, such as those featured below, requiring their annual prune.

When pruning climbing roses, establish a balanced framework of older stems, then shorten side-shoots by two-thirds to encourage abundant blooms in summer.

To get huge ornamental leaves on cotinus and catalpa, cut these shrubs back hard. They will re-sprout vigorously, even from old wood.

Now the worst of the frosts are over, cut top growth of penstemon and phygelius down to 15cm from the ground, to prevent them getting straggly.

Remove a third of the oldest stems of