Pruning vigorous climbing plants

Follow our sage advice on pruning vigorous climbing plants, below.

Prune back trailing stems

Control the vigour of climbers such as honeysuckle, summer jasmine and wisteria by pruning the trailing stems in July. Leave just three to four leaves on the current season’s growth. This will encourage the plants to put their energy into producing flowers rather than more leafy growth.

Thin out new growth

As well as pruning out old stems, it’s important to thin out new growth on plants such as rambling roses. This is a quick pruning job, which is worth doing every year to keep these fast-growing climbers in check. Cut back vigorous, wayward stems to help control growth and keep plants looking their best.

Promote flowering lower down

The stems of climbers such as honeysuckle are short lived, rarely lasting more than five years before weakening and producing fewer and fewer flowers. So prune out some of these older stems to avoid a bare base with flowers only at the top. Then train in new growth to ensure there’s an even spread of flowers.

Before you go, don't forget to take a look at more of the climbers you can prune over the summer months, for better flowering.