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March Garden Guide

march-garden-guide

Lawn Care

Weed Control

Spot treat existing weeds growing now with natural horticultural vinegar or Captain Jack's Deadweed Brew. Both will burn any foliage so take care to not spray your plants or lawn.

To prevent weeds, apply Hi Yield Grass and Weed Stopper or Weed Beater Complete to help control existing weeds and prevent new ones.

Apply Weed-B-Gon for Southern Lawns or Image to kill the existing weeds once our weather warms up to 70-80 degrees with no rain for about 5 days. They are safe for Floratam & Raleigh St. Augustine and Bermuda. Give them 2 weeks to fully work and then it should be time to fertilize the lawn.

Fertilize

Fertilize when the grass is actively growing. Apply organic Medina Growin Green or Milorganite to your lawn. Water in well (approximately 30 minutes per area). These organic fertilizers will feed your lawn and soil with minimal watering. Lay new sod anytime, bermuda seed anytime this month.

Read: Treat For Take-All Patch in Lawns

Watch: How to Collect a Grass Sample

What To Plant

Most annuals and perennials can now be purchased as transplants this month. Here is a list of some of our favorites: (L-R) caladiums (plants and bulbs), larkspur, petunias, salvia, gerbera daisy, alyssum, false heather, celosia, lantana, coleus.

Read: Fuel For Your Hungry Hummers

 

Vegetable Seeds

Beans, okra, radish, pumpkins, and watermelons, squash, cantaloupe, basil, corn

Vegetable Transplants

Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, and strawberries
Garden Guide: Vegetable Planting Dates

Hardy Trees, Shrubs, Vines, Grasses

All hardy and tropical trees, shrubs, vines and grasses. I can’t think of one that can’t be planted now!

Bulbs & Caladiums

Late spring and summer bulbs such as caladiums, and elephant ears

 

Houseplants

March is a great time to clean, trim, and feed your houseplants. As the sun becomes stronger, plants may require more waterings. Check more often. Consider repotting in Spring. Over Winter, houseplant roots can outgrow their existing pots.

Fertilize

AZALEAS, GARDENIAS, MAGNOLIAS

Fertilize organically with Maestro Gro-Rose Glo or Espoma Azalea Tone.

HIBISCUS & TROPICAL BLOOMERS

Fertilize all hibiscus and tropical bloomers organically with Maestro Gro-Rose Glo, or conventionally with Hibiscus Food.

ALL TREES & SHRUBS

Fertilize organically with Milorganite, Medina Growin Green, Plant Tone, or Hasta Gro. 

ANNUALS & PERENNIALS

Fertilize organically with Medina Growing Green, Hasta Gro, Maestro Rose Glo, or Plant Tone, or conventionally with Osmocote Time Release Granules.

ESTABLISHED ROSES

Fertilize organically with Maestro Rose Glo or Plant Tone.

ESTABLISHED CITRUS TREES

Fertilize organically with Citrus Tone.
Read: Fertilize Your Citrus Now

All granular fertilizer should be watered in well.

Prune

  • All dead and freeze damaged wood from hardy and tropical trees, shrubs, vines and perennials
  • Wait to prune early spring bloomers like Azaleas, Carolina Jessamine, climbing roses, Texas Mountain Laurels, and Indian Hawthorn until after they finish their bloom.

Water

  • Water all plants well after planting, and regularly through the first year. Plants will begin to use more water as they grow and bloom.
  • Outdoor potted plants dry out quickly, as do hanging baskets and small annuals.
  • Mulch all plants to help hold moisture.

Garden Guide: Good Water Practice for Established Trees, Shrubs, and Lawns

What to Watch Out For

Protect your Lawn from Oak Leaves

Live oaks are following their natural pattern of dropping old leaves before the new leaves come on. Now it’s time to get those oak leaves off your lawn before it suffocates the grass. Under large oaks, since the grass is often thin and stressed anyway because of shade, using a blower is less stressful on the weak turf than a rake.

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • james gill says

      There aren’t enough Shumard oaks in our area for me to be intimately acquainted with their time to bud, But for sure, everything is late this year. Winter was not too harsh, but the clouds and cool weather have stayed around way longer. Whenever they bud this year, it is not the typical time.

  1. azalea bonzai says

    Have a large group of azaleas along about 110′.
    What is the best mulch to keep the moist in warm weather and keep the weeds out.
    They receive the afternoon sun.

    • james gill says

      Azaleas in afternoon sun doesn’t sound like a happy situation to me, but maybe the best mulch would be pine straw. You can put it on nice and thick, without suffocating the roots

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