March Gardening Calendar

Lawns

• Plant Grass Seed NOW (unless you have already put down a spring pre-emergent weed preventer. This will prevent grass from germinating and sprouting)
• If you have already put down a pre-emergent, you will need to wait at least 3 months before putting down grass seed. In this case, we would recommend that you seed in the fall and apply your weed preventer again next Spring
• Apply Fertilome All Seasons in the lawn. All Seasons will help control grassy & broadleaf weeds (such as Chickweed & Henbit) by preventing germination of the seeds.
• For weeds that have already sprouted, you can spray Fertilome Weed Free Zone. This product has been designed to be effective the cool temps of early Spring.
• Aerating the lawn is great during early Spring while their is good moisture content in the soil
• Service mowers & trimmers and sharpen mower blades before the mowing season gets into swing.

Trees & Shrubs

• Clean up any fallen leaves or debris from under your trees, shrubs, & rose bushes.
• Prune out any broken branches from trees or shrubs with a clean & sharp pair of pruners
• Plant new trees & shrubs in the landscape. Due to the cooler temps and higher rainfall of early Spring, your plants have more time to develop a healthy root system with less stress.
• Spray fruit trees with Dormant Oil Spray as an organic insect preventative.
• Fertilizing most trees & shrubs except for Rhododendron, Azaleas, & Spring blooming Camellias
•  You can prune to shape or trim as desired most trees & shrubs with the exception of Spring flowering trees & shrubs. (These will be pruned at a later date)
• Hand prune thinning of shrubs & hedges that have been repeatedly shear pruned.
• Thinning & heading back of various fruit trees prior to leaf break & bloom
• Prune Panicle & Smooth Hydrangea prior to new growth emergence – do not prune Big Leaf or Macrophylla Hydrangea (Not sure which you have? Just call and ask one of our Tree & Shrub experts
• Apply Horticultural Oil sprays to Fruit Trees prior to leaf emergence
• Apply Horticultural Oil sprays to Euonymus and other Scale prone shrubs

General Landscape

• General clean up of landscape beds and regrade existing mulch prior to applying granular pre-emergent weed control such as Hi-Yield Weed & Grass Stopper
• It’s a great time to edge and mulch the landscape beds with your preferred mulch
• Edge & mulch around trees prior to the mowing season to prevent mower damage from base of trees
• Apply HiYield Pre-Emergent granular pre-emergent to all landscape plantings for preventing weeds seeds from germinating

Vegetable Gardens

• Start your warm season seeds such as Tomatoes & Peppers indoors this month
• Prepare your garden beds by tilling any cover crops into the soil
• Seed your cool season outdoor crops such as kale, lettuce, carrots, radish, & spinach directly into the soil
• Start small transplants of Broccoli, Cabbage, Kale, etc. into the garden

Perennials

• Clean dead foliage from under perennials such as Lenten Rose and trim away any dead stalks or leaves from last season
• Dig & divide perennials such as Hosta & Daylily. You can divide & replant (or share with a neighbor!). Use a spade or shovel to dig up clumps and break them into smaller pieces gently with a gardening knife or trowel. (Replant your divisions as soon as possible.) Note: Peony, Bearded Iris, Lily, & Oriental Poppy prefer to be divided in late summer
• Cut back all Liriope “Monkey Grass” to 2-3” above ground level before new growth starts emerging.
•  Cut back all winter killed perennial foliage
• Fertilizing most perennials with a good all purpose fertilizer (We recommend Fertilome Gardener’s Special)

Flower Beds & Containers

• Plant cool weather loving annuals in containers & beds. Snapdragons, Pansies, Violas, & Dusty Miller are all great cool season choices for beautiful color.

Houseplants

• It is a good time to consider repotting your houseplants especially if root bound. (The pot feels tight around the plant or sometimes the root will be growing out of the drainage holes) Remember: only pot into a pot that is 2-3” bigger than your current pot. Too large of a pot can encourage overwatering and lead to root rot.