Most roses are dormant at this time of year, but new growth is just around the corner, which means gardeners need to get pruning.

Late winter (January and February) and early spring are the best times to prune roses as they are dormant.

Pruning will help encourage your roses to produce new growth and beautiful blooms in spring.

However, before you start pruning your roses, a gardening expert has warned there is one "really key job" that needs to be done now.

Sophie Valentine, who goes by @lookinsidemygarden on YouTube, shared a short video describing a key task on roses that needs to be done now.

She said: "January is here, and it is time for some rose maintenance. I didn't have time last week to actually do my rose pruning but something I noticed really needed doing was the removal of the leaves."

Sophie's plant was showing signs of black spot, a serious fungal disease which can infect the plant's leaves and can reduce its strength and health.

The gardening expert said gardeners need to make sure that when they're removing the leaves from their roses, they are not falling on the ground below.

If any of the leaves have already dropped, gardeners will need to make sure the ground is clear to "reduce the risk of the infection spreading to next year's plant".

She added: "This is a really key job to be doing right now. January and February are the perfect time to be pruning your rose."

Black spot is most active in cool, moist weather and can be spread by rain, insects, people, dew and irrigation.

All types of roses can be infected with the disease, but hybrid tea roses, grandifloras, and miniature roses are more vulnerable to infection.

Fungicides can easily treat black spot disease. Neem oil can also be used to control the spread of the disease.