The complete guide to spending March in the garden

Sleet and morning frost one day, warm blue skies the next — trees start budding, the first flowers open and the whole garden bursts into life. March is the month for pruning climbing and bush roses, grapevines and every shrub that does not flower in spring, for renovating the lawn, and for starting the first seedlings under cover.

Rainy days with sleet and morning frost alternate with warm blue-sky spring days, and the entire garden starts bursting to life!

Trees start budding, certain flower varieties start to bloom while other plants are calling for attention.

March is the start of a long gardening season, and it’s all for the better!

We’re very happy to be beginning this season with you on Nature-and-Garden today!

Remember, any question can find its answer on the forum…

Pruning shrubs in March

Shrubs that do not bloom in spring must be pruned at this time.

• Refer to our guidelines on pruning shrubs
• It is also the right time to cut hedges back if you appreciate a very neat garden. However, you can wait until April if you want to spare yourself too much work.

Topiary shrubs like boxwood, yaupon, holly and yew can get their first trimming in March.

On the contrary, here is a list of shrubs not to prune in Spring: spring blooming shrubs

• You can actually start planting these end of March. They’ll give you a good show of flowers if you avoid transplant shock.

Pruning of roses in March

This is the ideal month to prune your climbing and bush rose trees.

Caution: it is important to burn the trimmings in order to eliminate diseases and parasites. Indeed, fungus and larvae may have taken up shop on them during the winter.

• Refer to our guidelines on how to correctly prune a rose tree

Cut just above an outward-facing bud, with the blade sloping away from it so water runs off the wound.

Pruning grapevines

This is the last opportunity of the year to prune your grape vines before the season starts.

• Refer to our guidelines on pruning grapevine
• At the end of the month, you may also start treatments based on Bordeaux mixture

• On spur-pruned vines, shorten each spur on the permanent arm back to two buds and take the rest of last year’s growth right off.
• Spray Bordeaux mixture on a dry, still day while the buds are still closed, covering trunk, arms and spurs.

What to prune in March — and what to leave alone

March is a pruning month, but not for everything in the garden. This table sums up which plants take the secateurs now and which are better left untouched.

In short, anything that is about to flower keeps its branches, while everything else can be cut back now.

In the flower beds

It’s time to spade and clean the beds to prepare them for new plants.

Spading is an important step, because it helps aerate the soil, promotes drainage, and buries weeds underground where they can’t catch any light. If you’ve got a thick layer of organic mulch, usually this isn’t necessary.

• Refer to our guidelines on fighting weeds naturally.

• Skip the spade if the soil sticks to your boots.
• Fork a 2–5 cm layer of compost or well-rotted manure into the top 15–20 cm of each bed; it improves soil structure and water holding while releasing nutrients gradually as it decomposes.
• Mark the positions of emerging bulbs with a cane or label before you start digging, since an unseen clump is easily speared or damaged by a fork working blindly through the soil.

For the lawn

Spring is the right time to care for your lawn, be it for sowing it or completely renovating it.

It is time to de-thatch and treat the lawn against moss.

• It is also the right time to renovate an old lawn.
• If you wish to start a lawn from scratch, follow these instructions.

• Give the first cut with the mower blades set high, taking off no more than a third of the blade length, as scalping weakened winter grass invites moss straight back.
• Rake out dead moss and thatch before feeding, since a thick thatch layer can intercept granules and slow water movement, so less of the fertiliser reaches the roots where it is needed.

Treating against diseases and parasites

Trees and shrubs may receive the first yearly preventive treatments as soon as end of March, to protect them from an onslaught of mushrooms.

• Rediscover how to use Bordeaux mixture
• How to enhance fruit harvest

Avoid applying insecticides to trees in bloom, because they can kill foraging bees; some fungicides are approved for bloom-time use, so follow the label and spray at dusk when bees are inactive.

Planting trees and shrubs

It is still time to plant trees and shrubs that have been purchased in pots.

To spur their revival, add organic fertilizer coupled with “plantation mix” or “universal soil mix” into the soil.

Water the newly backfilled hole thoroughly to settle soil around the roots and close air pockets, adjusting the amount downward if the soil is already wet or drains poorly.

Covered seedlings

March is a great month for starting certain seedlings in a protected environment. Essentially annual plants are concerned here, such as the following climbing plants: nasturtium, oceanblue morning glory, or sweet pea.

A nice impulse to indulge in: sowing tomato.

Ventilate the greenhouse or tunnel on mild days: damping off, the collapse of seedlings at soil level, is caused by soil-borne fungi and oomycetes such as Pythium, which stagnant, damp air encourages.

Sow some veggies directly in the patch

If your climate permits it, and that exposure to the sun is high, it is also possible to start direct sowing of certain vegetables such as:

• carrot
• radish
• pea
• cauliflower
• leek
• red beet
• lettuce
• chicory

Leeks are commonly raised in a nursery seedbed, sown thinly enough that seedlings are not crowded, then lifted and transplanted to their final positions once they reach roughly pencil thickness.

Net peas as soon as they are sown.

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