MARCH: This month, the days get longer, the sun gets stronger, and the first signs of spring arrive. But beware! Don’t let your enthusiasm run away on mild days. Frosts will still be lurking around. It is better to delay sowing and planting if the soil is too wet and cold.
Life in the garden really gets into gear this month with daffodils and some of the earlier tulips heading the list. Forsythia gives its beautiful yellow display this month with camellias and magnolias bring splashes of rose, white and pink. For scent, Viburnum Burkwoodii will be at its best and flowering cherry trees will be flowering from mid-month onwards. The Clematis Armandii will come into flower this month, and many heathers will prove their worth especially this month.
Pruning shrubs
Prune away one or perhaps two flowering shoots from large mahonias each year, after flowering. This will encourage a succession of new replacement shoots to grow up from the base. Old, leggy shoots can be cut right down to ground level or you can stagger the length of stems to create a more interesting shape. The stems of dogwoods, willows, hardy fuchsias and ceratostigma should also be pruned back hard this month to encourage fresh, brightly coloured new growth. Cut down tall stems on Buddleia Davidii to emerging shoots lower down the plant, shaping the shrub to control its size.
Pruning clematis
Summer-flowering clematis varieties that blossom on the current season’s growth, such as Clematis ‘Etoile Violette’, need to have last year’s growth pruned out now. Cut any tangled old stems down to a pair of new shoots near ground level as soon as possible.
Divide snowdrops
Lift and divide any congested snowdrops after flowering but while still in leaf. Carefully tease the clumps apart and replant the bulbs at the same depth they were before. Read our snowdrop plant profile to learn about these beautiful plants
Fertilising
Sprinkle general-purpose fertiliser along the base of hedges and around trees and shrubs, followed by a generous mulch of rotted compost. Learn more about the benefits of feeding plants.
Planting begonia tubers
Plant tubers now in trays of moist compost, barely covering the top. Study the tubers carefully before planting and you will notice that they are convex on one side and concave on the other. The concave side should be uppermost in the pot. Keep them in a warm, bright position, watering when the compost dries out. Pot each one up individually when shoots are 5cm to 7.5cm (2in to 3in) long.
Trim heather
Trim winter-flowering heathers with shears to remove flower-heads and to shape the plants. Take care to remove only the blooms, never cutting back into old wood.
As always, if you haven’t got the time but you like the idea of a beautiful garden, CONTACT US to book a free consultation or quote.