GINA PARKINSON introduces jobs for the February garden.

FEBRUARY can be a great time for getting out into the garden and preparing for the summer ahead. The weather may scupper plans, because it is after all still technically winter. But there will be balmy days that allow work to be done.

Last year February heralded a long period of dry, warm conditions and I remember being outside in hot sunshine as renovation on our house began.

Towards the end of the month, late summer and autumn-flowering clematis can be cut hard back to the lowest pair of healthy buds. This type of clematis flowers on growth made in the current year and hard pruning encourages production of the new stems necessary for plentiful blooms.

Clematis that flower earlier in the summer can also be pruned this month but a light trim will be enough.

However, a plant that has been left untouched for a while may need more attention. Although flowering will be affected this year, it will be much better in subsequent summers.

Firstly untangle the plant as much as possible from its support and other plants it has grown into and remove any dead, diseased or broken stems, then cut back the oldest growth to the lowest pair of strong buds.

Prune the remaining stems to varying lengths with the most recent growth only being lightly trimmed. This should ensure a few flowers this year. Retie the stems on to their support, training them horizontally along wires or trellis so the flowers are easily seen.

Spring flowering clematis should not be pruned until they have finished flowering. This includes the popular clematis montana, which is seen blooming everywhere in April and May, clothing walls with masses of pink and white flowers.

This strong-growing clematis can get very big and once established will put on a considerable amount of growth in a short time. It needs places to scramble, ideally along long walls and up into trees and shrubs.

A mature plant is a magnificent sight but must be kept in hand especially if grown up a house wall as guttering can get blocked or even broken by the weight of the stems. This species should be lightly trimmed after flowering and in confined spaces may need harder pruning every few years to stop it getting too big.

Rose bushes will need pruning this month. I did mine last week as I noticed that, in our sheltered city garden, they had already produced several new shoots.

Cut out dead or diseased wood then prune the remaining stems by about a half, down to an outward facing bud. The reason for this is to encourage new branches to grow on the outside of the plant and to keep the centre clear to give plenty of room for stems to grow and flowers to develop.

If suckers have grown, pull them away from the main stem rather than cutting them off as this will produce more shoots.

The best way is to trace where the sucker is growing from, which usually involves scraping the soil away from the base of the bush to expose the lower part of the plant.

The sucker can then be pulled cleanly away. Replace the soil to its original level.

Updated: 08:40 Saturday, February 14, 2004