The complete guide to spending March in the garden

Finally comes March, the month that signals the first spring garden tasks.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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