March is a challenge for the northern gardener . The weather twit us with a warm days , followed by a abstruse freeze . In some year , you ’ll see someearly blooming bulbs — sometimes it seems too former . In others , nothing . Given our warm temperatures this week , it ’s likely much of the snow will melt , but we recognize that this is no time to be walk around the grass , compressing the soil , no matter how tempting .
But which March garden chores are okay to do ? Here ’s a listing :
Prune , prune , prune . Late March is the perfect clip to prune yield trees , hydrangeasand other bush and tree diagram . Do n’t prune any bush with spring flush you need to enjoy , such as lilac or azaleas . ( hold back until after they flower to prune them . ) Plants are still dormant in March and you may see their complex body part well enough to see which branches should be removed . When pruning , look for branches that are idle , diseased or damaged branch . You ’re also mold the tree . Below is the third of a three - part series from the University of Minnesota on pruning fruit trees . Check it out :
contrive Your Garden . You plausibly have started this in your head at least , but now is the fourth dimension to put pen to report or pull up a garden preparation app and decide where you will put what during the coming season . Having a sketch help you make up one’s mind things like color schemes in ornamental gardens or how to dosuccession plantingin vegetable gardens . It ’s also just fun to dream about what your garden will front like this twelvemonth .
Start Seeds Indoors . You’ve got your vegetable seed already , right ? If not , head to the nursery or your favorite online cum purveyor and take your vegetable seeds for 2021 . If catalog sellers are out of stock ( and they may be ) , hold glasshouse or even hardware story . Many have seed displays this time of yr . Some flora need to bestarted indoors under lights . In northern clime , now is a proficient meter to go pepper seeds , lettuce you plan to found out early in a stale - frame or protect area , and some yearly that take for a while to get going from cum , such as snapdragon , impatiens , ageratum or larkspur . Toward the oddment of the month , you may desire to start more sugar or tomato plant . If you do n’t get to it until April , no worries . There ’s still sentence to start plants from seeds . you could also continue to countersink outwinter sowing containers .
Turn the Compost . If your compost mickle is thawed ( it probably is n’t just yet ) , March is a good time to deform it . You may be able-bodied to pull some finished compost from the pile and the rest of it will heat up as the temperatures uprise .
geld Branches for Forcing . If you ’d like some flower in your planetary house early this year , cut branches from some of your favorite flowering shrubs forforcingin the theatre . Just geld the branches , target them in water and look for the blooms . Diane McGann , our By Design columnist , has a complete pillar on how to do this in the March / April way out ofNorthern Gardener .
Fertilize Houseplants . With longer Day , March is a skillful time to fertilizer your houseplant . Give each plant a debile dose ( half strength ) of urine soluble plant food . Most plants produce very footling in wintertime . Now is the time to give them a boost . Give them all a good watering ( I like to put mine in the shower ! ) and check to see if they are root - bound . If so , put them in slightly larger dope with fresh soil .
Our March garden chores in the North are not extensive , but they are just enough to get gardeners excited for the season to come .
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