With longer days and brighter weather on the horizon, now is the perfect time for gardeners to start preparing for spring and summer.

Former senior royal gardener at Highgrove, Jack Stooks, has revealed his expert advice to ensure climbing plants flourish in the months ahead, saving gardeners time and effort later in the year.

Stooks stressed the importance of pruning, particularly for wisteria, clematis, and roses.

He advises cutting back these plants to "three or four buds" before new growth takes over.

He said: “With Wisterias, before they start leafing up, you can see the structure of wisterias so any new growth, you can tell going back to the main stem.

"You cut them to about three or four buds. You need to cut them right back so they put on flower rather than leaf growth. You want them to flower rather than keep producing leaves, hence why we cut them back.

For rambling roses, he recommends allowing them to grow freely if they are climbing up trees, as they will typically thrive on their own.

However, for smaller gardens where space is limited, he suggests tying in new growth now to prevent tangled and unruly plants later in the season.

He added: "Diseased, dying, dead all get cut out before tying in any nice growth you want to keep. Rose pruning can be done as well now. All the shrub roses hopefully will have been pruned by now so they have been done before the winter."

"If not, you could do the pruning of those now, to cut them back to the shrub you want rather than letting them go completely wild.”

Beyond climbing plants, Stooks also offers broader gardening advice. He advises that now is the time to start sowing vegetable seeds and chitting potatoes in preparation for planting.

Beds should be enriched with well-rotted manure, and winter-flowering shrubs that were overlooked last year should be pruned back. While hydrangeas can also be trimmed at this stage, he cautions gardeners to be mindful of potential late frosts.

For those looking to add support structures for climbing plants, he suggests positioning willow teepees or wire supports now to help plants grow in an orderly fashion.

Additionally, any finished flowering bulbs can be moved and split to encourage better growth and create more blooms for the next season.

By following these expert tips, gardeners can get ahead of their spring maintenance and set their climbing plants up for a spectacular season of flowering.