It is hard to believe that it is March already! With the coolest days behind us, the main growing season has arrived. As we move into this season, now is a great time to draw up your March landscaping to-do list. Here is what you should plan to do on your property this month to keep it healthy and help it look its best.
Plant Hardy Flowers: Now is the time to spice up your annual garden beds with plants that can survive the high temperatures we’re about to get. Zinnias, gazanias, firecracker flowers, and melampodium flowers will bring bright, colors to your landscape all the way through autumn. If you’re partial to bulb flowers, gladiolus and caladium should be planted this month. Remember to stake your gladiolus as they get bigger to prevent them from falling over–their flowers are gorgeous, but make them quite top heavy.
Work with Herbs: Now is a great time to bring your outdoor herb gardens back to life. Not only can you use them to create delicious meals, but they also make a beautiful addition to your landscape and attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. Some, like citronella and basil, even have mosquito-repellent properties to make evenings outdoors more pleasant.
Start Your Vegetable Garden: Many fruits and vegetables should be planted this month in order for them to grow and be harvested before the heat of midsummer hits. Now is the time to get your arugula, endive, Swiss chard, carrots, beans, squashes, and melons like watermelon and cantaloupe into the ground before it’s too late. Plant these as early in the month as possible to give them their best chance.
Prune Your Trees: Stimulate abundant new growth in your shrubs and trees now that the dormant season is over. Boxwoods and other hedge species can be pruned this month, as well as other non-flowering shrubs. Remove dead or damaged branches from all your plants. Hold off on pruning early-spring bloomers like redbuds and magnolias until this season’s flowers have bloomed and faded–pruning after they bloom but before new buds grow will produce abundant flowers next year.
Reinforce Your Mulch: March landscaping is a great time to add mulch around your trees and in your garden beds if you have not already. Your plants will benefit greatly from the additional moisture and lower soil temperature as the weather heats up throughout the month. The mulch will also significantly help to suppress weeds and keep them from stealing critical water and nutrients from your landscape plants.
Catch Up on Fertilizing: Did you skip fertilizing last month? That’s not a problem. Now is still an appropriate time to fertilize for healthy, happy plants. Perform a soil test to determine what nutrients your landscape lacks before fertilizing your lawn, palm trees, and garden beds this month so that your plants have time to absorb the nutrients they need for optimal growth.
Get After the Insects: Now that the cold has gone for the most part, the majority of our insect pests are emerging from their dormancy and beginning their reproductive processes. Start keeping a close eye out for these unwelcome garden insects–particularly aphids–on the new growth throughout your landscape. The earlier you catch these infestations, the easier it will be to control and eliminate them. Check your plants every 1 to 2 days for your best chance at finding pests, since they’re capable of reproducing extremely quickly.
Big Earth Landscape Supply has all the fertilizers, mulch and tools you’ll need to get your March landscaping up to par this spring. Stop by one of our 4 locations or shop online!
