Anyone who has roses in their garden is being warned that they must cut them back in February before winter ends.

The beautiful multi-layered flowers are a firm favourite of British gardens, whether red, pink, white, or a rarer colour like orange or yellow.

There can be few sights more iconic each summer than roses exploding into life.

But if you don't take action in February, your roses could struggle to bloom or even die off entirely.

Roses need to be pruned at the end of every winter. For those in the south of England, this is February, while in colder areas such as the north of England and Scotland, this may be March.

Pruning isn't just to encourage better growth in summer, but also to cut out any diseased areas which could kill off your roses entirely.

When pruning, it's also important to take care of any problems which can kill the plant, including rose black spot, rose dieback and replant disease.

According to Henchman.co.uk: "Pruning roses lead to stronger, healthier plants throughout the year. As roses are prone to diseases, it’s important to stay on top of diseased or dead stems, flowers and suckers as they can affect your overall plant growth.

"Rose black spot: This is a disease that results in purple or black splotches on leaves. Rose dieback, which happens when the plants experience harsh weather conditions or have not been properly cared for. Replant disease, which occurs when a plant is removed and replaced by the same type. This can lead to poor root growth, particularly in roses.

"If you catch sight of black spot, remove the worst-affected leaves as soon as possible, ensuring any fallen leaves are removed and disposed of. If watering is required, only water around the base of the plant and avoid getting the foliage wet.

"When pruning in winter, prune out any infected stems and congested growth, as well as removing all foliage to allow for better airflow. Once pruning is complete, ensure any debris is removed from the ground below the rose, then mulch. A healthy plant is less likely to be affected by black spot.”

Gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh has stressed that pruning rose bushes is vital to the ongoing health of the flowers.

He said on Waitrose TV: “Rose pruning is much more than simply controlling the size of the bush. The pruning cuts you make will influence the rose’s health and vigour, as well as its flowering potential.

“Pruning will help breathe new life into your roses. After a few years of blooming, a rose stem becomes exhausted, so that flowering diminishes. 

“This loss of vigour encourages a bud lower down the stem to break and grow and replace the exhausted stem. Pruning merely helps speed up this natural process, while keeping the rose healthy and looking good.

“I prune all my bush roses during late winter, before new growth starts. This can vary from year to year, according to the prevailing weather conditions. After last year’s long, cold winter, for example, I didn’t prune until early March. But in milder years, it can be a month earlier.”

Alan urged gardeners to prune roses with a cut ‘a few millimetres above the bud, sloping away’, so that the top of the slope protects the bud.

If you cut too close to the bud, you can damage it, but cutting too far can create a snag that kills the bud.