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There can be few more classically summer sights in the UK than roses in full bloom. And up and down the country in gardens in every part of the UK, roses of every colour are one of the most popular flowers.

Generally, they're easy to care for, hardy enough to survive our harsh winters and our sometimes blazing summers and can be made to fit even the smallest patio as well as sprawling grounds. I've been growing roses in my own for several years now, but 2025 has given me my best crop of dazzlingly colourful roses ever - and I attribute the change to one thing I've stopped doing.

This year, I decided to stop maintaining my roses, and let them be wild. I haven't sprayed them with any chemicals, like aphid sprays, and I haven't them.

Both of these seem to go against prevailing wisdom: that roses need to be pruned back in early spring to encourage growth, or that they need to constantly be sprayed against pests.

says: "The basic principles of pruning are the same: cutting back hard will promote the strongest growth, while light pruning will result in less vigour. The other basic rules include cutting to an outward-facing bud to prevent compacted growth and removing closely positioned stems that might rub or compete for space. Also remove stubby 'snags' (short, dead lengths of stem with no growth on them) and thin, twiggy stems, which are unlikely to produce anything worthwhile in terms of growth and flowering potential."

That sounds good, but it's possible that sometimes simply leaving it be is better. All I've done is let the grass grow long for No Mow May, tied the roses up so the long stems can support their weight, and added some compost to their soil. All of which I always did - but this time I've cut out the pruning and the intensive spraying.

And now I have the largest, brightest, pinkest bloom of roses I've ever had. Is it simply the lack of pruning? Is it in fact, due to No Mow May giving me more pollinators?

Your mileage may vary, but it turns out I'm not the only gardener taking a hands-off approach successfully. As one fellow gardener on Reddit says: "The honest answer with roses is that you can hack them to within an inch of their lives or completely neglect them and they'll still look good.

"One of my favourite things in the garden used to be the ancient climbing rose that poked over our fence from our elderly neighbour's garden - that he hadn't pruned, fed or touched in 20 years."