What to do in March for Gardening
-Plant trees, shrubs, perennials, fruit trees bare root, potted or B&B (balled and burlapped)
-Check and if needed, water your established evergreens and your newly planted trees, shrubs and perennials from summer/fall plantings. Here is a list of plants that appreciate a drink of water in the winter.
-Apply Crabgrass control to the lawn. Be sure to time it for when there is a rain storm or when your irrigation system comes online.
-You can do your thinning and rejuvenating pruning on Fruit Trees, this includes apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds.
-Get your roses ready for spring by cutting them back and thinning out some canes. Here is a video to get Roses ready for spring.
-If a summer flowering shrubs is out of control, too big or just looking a little woody; now is a great time to cut them back, thin them out or if need be cut them to the ground. Here is a list of Summer Shrubs who benefit from a Winter Prune.
-If you need to relocate a perennial, rose, shrub or tree now is a best to move it; while it is still dormant.
-You can limb up lower tree branches to work the canopy up as the tree grows. Only limb up a foot of branches a year on young trees.
-For early March, spray dormant oil and copper fungicide on Fruit Trees, when the temperature is above 40 degrees F, to clean up any wintering over insects or diseases. Most notable is to control Peach Leaf Curl on Peaches and Nectarines. As well as to control Coddling Moth for Apples and Pears. Please read the label for proper dilution rates to apply to your fruits.
-For early March, spray dormant oil on plants that where very buggy last growing season, when the temperature is above 40 degrees F. Always check the dormant oil label to make sure that plant you want to spray is on it's label.
-For early March, spray copper fungicide on plants that had disease issues last growing season, when the temperature is above 40 degrees F. Always check the Copper fungicide label to make sure that the plant you want to spray is on it's label.