Spring is definitely in the air! It is amazing how quickly everything starts to grow now, especially if we have a few sunny, mild days.

Now is the time to prune your bush-roses (hybrid teas and floribundas) if you haven’t done so already. Cut off all the spindly twigs and anything dead, damaged or diseased. Cut to an outward facing bud leaving about 2.5cm of last year’s growth on weaker stems and a bit more on stronger stems. Shrub roses don’t need such drastic pruning and with these, if they are looking a bit congested, cut out about one third of the thickest oldest branches at the base with a pruning saw, thus encouraging new shoots to emerge. Take about 10cm off the top of the remaining stems to finish.

Pot extras up and give to a friend
Now is also a good time to divide Hostas if they are getting too big. Dig them up and slice them into sections, making sure each has some shoots at the top. Replant them, enriching the soil with some compost and bonemeal and, if you have too many bits to plant in your garden, pot them up and give to a friend – after all that is one of the greatest pleasures in being a gardener!

Agapanthus rarely need dividing – probably only every five years or so when they start flowering, less than before. If this is the case with yours divide them now, cutting through congested clumps with a sharp spade and replanting in nice free-draining soil. They will take a year to recover properly so don’t panic if they don’t flower in the first season.

The autumn sown sweet peas that you have sown in pots can now be planted into their final flowering position. Make sure the soil has plenty of organic material dug into it, erect a wigwam of canes and they will put on a wonderful show and provide plenty of cut flowers for the house.

Let in light and air into the centre of the plant
Evergreen grasses such as Festuca glauca or Cortaderia selloana (pampas grass) are pruned annually in early spring. Smaller grasses are lightly pruned to remove dead leaf tips (a pair of scissors does this very easily), whilst the big pampas grasses need very thick gloves and possibly hedge trimmers to cut them down hard to the base. Rake out dead material from the base to let in light and air into the centre of the plant.