Spring
is almost here and the garden is beginning to wake up. Yellow dominates
the landscape now with daffodils and forsythias commanding attention.
Roses, trees and shrubs will be leafing out by mid-March. It is
truly a magical time in the garden.
This
is also a busy time with numerous important chores that need to
be done. Lawns need to be fertilized, shrubs and roses pruned, most
plants need to be fertilized, and it is an ideal time to plant shrubs
and cool weather vegetables. Finding the time to do all this can
be tricky. March weather is haphazard at best. It is usually a wet
month and temperatures vary with very warm days in the 60s and even
70s and the frosts are not over yet. But if you can get a head start
on these chores before the warm weather gets here, you will thank
yourself later!
Plants
of Interest
tulips
daffodils
hyacinth
forsythia
quince
witch hazel
saucer magnolia
crabapple
bradford pear
yoshino cherry
spirea
flowering almond
pansy
What
to Plant
container shrubs,
vines, and trees
roses
evergreen grasses
- (late in month after danger of
hard frost)
cool
weather vegetables - Broccoli, cauliflower, onions, collards,
cabbage, spinach, lettuce.
Fertilize
trees
and summer flowering shrubs (don't
fertilize early blooming shrubs like azaleas until after
they bloom)
roses
- apply granular fertilizer when you prune.
lawns
vegetables
Prune
hybrid
tea roses
summer flowering shrubs
lirope (monkey grass)
buddlea (butterfly bush)
clematis
tropical plants
nandina
Transplant
perennials
- divide and transplant chrysanthemums and other
late blooming perennials. Wait until fall to transplant early bloomers.
