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Q: Six years ago we tried to hide our garage by planting climbing roses – ‘Schoolgirl’, ‘Danse du Feu’, ‘Golden Showers’ and ‘Iceberg’ – on a trellis, as well as honeysuckle, jasmine, solanum and some vigorous clematis. The roses were swamped so we have taken out the rest, leaving the roses tall and bare. Can we cut them down or should we plant new ones? - Mrs J. Adams, Lymington, Hampshire

A: Swamped, were they? I am not surprised. But I see no problem at all cutting them down right now. It is wonderful how they sprout from leathery old trunks, but you must thank them for trying, with lashings of food and a layer of rich compost or manure. They will probably make long vigorous shoots that will need their tips cut out later in the year, to ensure well-branched coverage of the wall low down.

Only if they fail to shoot is it time to say goodbye, and as new roses usually fail to thrive where others have grown before, you ought to replant with something else; maybe some of those things you have just taken out!

Q: We have a mature box hedge (35in long, 8in high, 7in thick), which has encroached on the garden either side. We would like to cut its thickness back by up to a foot on each side. Can we do this without harming the hedge and, if so, when is the best time? - Mr G. Hammond, Church Hanborough, Oxon

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A: This is perfectly possible, and now is a good time to do it. Work your way along behind one vertical face, taking off about 2ft, so there is room for it to fill out again but still remain a foot further back than where it was before; there is no need to cut the branches right back to the trunk, as is the case with yew.

Cut back only one side this year (the sunnier side), and tackle the other side in a couple of years. In June, give it a dressing of sulphate of ammonia; it’s the fastest, cheapest way of supplying extra nitrogen. Don’t apply it after August or it will just encourage soft, late-season growth which will be susceptible to frost.

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