It's time for the kindest cut - so hunt out the pruning shears and get your garden in trim. As the weather starts to warm and spring is just around the corner, roses, and shrubs may need a prune.

Most deciduous shrubs and trees should be starting to bud, which makes it simple to distinguish living from dead wood although never prune without checking on the appropriate treatment for a particular plant or you risk pruning out this year's flowers.

Some deciduous flowering shrubs and climbers need regular pruning to improve their display.

The aim is to control their size while encouraging free flowering.

Many hybrid clematis, for instance, need pruning in late winter or early spring, cutting the stems off close to ground level. This method can also be used on overgrown clematis, including the vigorous C. montana.

Rose-pruning is also best done at this time of year, although it can be done any time between autumn and spring.

Hybrid tea and floribunda (bush) roses can be pruned by initially removing any dead or diseased shoots by cutting back to healthy wood, and then cutting back the remaining healthy shoots to around 30cm (1ft) above the ground. Cut just above an outward-facing bud to keep an open centre and good shape.

Shrub roses don't generally need regular pruning, but mature plants may need some cutting back to stop the shoots becoming too congested and woody. Cut back new shoots growing from the base by half.

If the plant has few basal shoots, reduce its height by about a quarter and shorten small sideshoots which have flowered to a few buds.

Climbing roses fall into several categories and pruning is affected by flowering. Repeat-flowering climbers should be treated differently from those that flower only once a year. If you know the name of your rose, check at your local garden centre for pruning advice.

As clematis vary in pruning needs from one type to another, keep the nursery label which will include pruning instructions. Hybrid clematis flower at the tips of their shoots in mid to late summer. They need cutting back in late winter or early spring.

However, some hybrid varieties flower on short side shoots grown in the current year and these are best left unpruned.

Dogwoods, grown for their vibrant winter stems, should be tackled now.

The oldest stems should be cut to ground level now to encourage new shoots, which are the most colourful.

Variegated shrubs often develop plain green shoots that should be removed from their base as soon as you see them or they may take over and ruin the plant.

Generally, pruning should be done on shrubs which flower before mid-summer as soon as flowering is over, including winter-flowering viburnums and mahonias, Ribes sanguineum, weigela and Spiraea "Arguta".

Shrubs that flower after mid-summer should generally be pruned in early spring, just before new growth starts. Cut back last season's flowering stems and any weak shoots.

The harder you prune, the more new growth will be made. Shrubs in this category include Buddleia davidii, Ceanothus x delileanus "Gloire de Versailles", large-leaved hebes, lavatera and Hydrangea paniculata.

with HANNAH STEPHENSON