NOT YOUR GARDEN VARIETY ADVICE.

We've earned a reputation for understanding plants, landscaping, gardening techniques and all things outdoors. So it's not surprising people come to us for help. Our monthly gardening advice will help you stay on the right gardening track. 

Gardening by the Month - March

In the Ornamental Garden:

• Spray dormant oil on deciduous plants and fruit trees if aphids, scale or mites were a problem last season, watch the weather for proper timing and spray only when temperatures are over 40 degrees with no chance of freezing or rain for 24 hours.

• This is the best month to prune deciduous trees and shrubs, and evergreens.  Remove damaged or diseased wood, sucker growth, water sprouts and crossing branches.  Try to prune to outward facing buds.

• Once soils thaw, plant trees and shrubs to give them 6 weeks of root development before hot, stressful summer weather.

• Cut to the ground all dried ornamental grasses and other perennials left standing for winter interest.

• Wait to prune roses until April.

• Start seeds indoors of cool season vegetables like spinach, cabbage, broccoli, peas and onions to plant in mid-April.

• Enjoy the early perennials and spring flowering bulbs waking up in the garden in March, like snowdrops, winter aconite and hellebores.

   

In the Indoor Garden:

• Check houseplants for insects by looking for webbing, sticky “honeydew” or yellow spotting of the leaves. Treat with a systemic insecticide that lasts for 8 weeks.
• Avoid pruning “light starved” plants until the end of the month when day lengths have increased.

• Re-pot houseplants this month in advance of the active growing season which starts in April.

• Begin giving houseplants fertilizer this month for the growing season.

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In the Vegtable garden:

• Wait until the garden soil has thawed and dried out before tilling, planting or walking in the planting beds.  Mix 2 to 3 inches of compost or leaf mold into the top 6 to 8 inches to increase organic matter and lighten heavy clay soils.  This is the time to add garden sulfur to lower the soil pH.

• Use a cold frame to start plants early and to “harden off” plants for later season planting.