MARCH
Perennials, Annuals & Bulbs
Fertilize perennial beds based on results of your soil test.
Slow release organic fertilizers work best.
Plant hardy woody vines like clematis.
Divide and replant daylilies, hostas, peonies, Shasta daisies, asters, boltonia, phlox, rudbechia and chrysanthemums when new growth is 1-2 inches high.
Cut back liriope monkey grass before new growth begins.
Deadhead daffodils when the blooms fade, but allow the foliage to die back naturally to store nutrients for the next growing season.
Pansies benefit from deadheading as well.
Sheer back germander to 1-2 inches to keep compact.
Cut back plants that were left for winter interest, including grasses and seed heads.
Cut back dead and old foliage from ferns.
Vegetables
Turn over soil in vegetable beds and add plenty of organic matter.
Plant cool season crops – i.e., lettuce, chard, kale, spinach, peas, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, radishes, and beets.
Cover them if temperatures dip below freezing.
Start tender vegetables, like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, indoors.
Lawn & Landscaping
Fertilize cool-season lawns (Tall Fescue)
Don’t fertilize again until September
Don’t fertilize warm-season grasses now (Zoysia, Bermuda, St. Augustine).
When mowing Tall Fescue lawns, don’t remove more than 1/3 of the height at any one mowing; leave clippings on the lawn unless they would smother the grass.
Apply pre-emergence herbicides to lawns by the time dogwoods bloom.
Trees, Shrubs & Groundcovers
Prune summer-blooming plants like althea, buddleia, vitex and crepe myrtle
Prune deciduous azalea, forsythia, flowering quince, spiraea and viburnum after blooming.
Roses:
Prune ever-blooming roses severely to force new growth
Thin out older canes on climbing cultivars (make pruning cuts above outward-facing buds)
Fertilize roses and continue every 6-8 weeks
Begin spray program, if needed, when new leaves appear. (Try 4 teaspoons baking soda to 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in 1 gallon water.)
Fertilize berry plants and fruit trees
If raspberries/blackberries weren’t pruned last fall, do it now.
Remove old camellia blooms to prevent spread of petal blight
Clean up any dead blooms from the ground.
Indoor Gardening
Repot houseplants and begin putting them outside on warmer days.
Always more to do:
Clean and sharpen your garden tools.
When mulching, keep mulch from touching the foundation or lowest course of siding (to discourage termites from invading your home undetected).
Clean out birdbaths and feeders.