I do tend to fall out of love with gardening in January and February, always a joy when March arrives, and fingers crossed it becomes slightly warmer and at least we have more hours of daylight. This is now the time to get busy, just wrap up and get out there as the sun is up by 7 am.
Pruning
Pruning can be very beneficial to many plants as it boosts flowering/fruiting and controls the size and shape.
Encourage new growth by cutting out old stems and this will stimulate new shoots and opens up the centre of the plant improving air circulation. The new stems that come through will be more vigorous and productive. Pruning also keeps your plants in good condition as you remove any dead, diseased or damaged stems.
Certain plants such as wisteria and buddleia which have vigorous growth need to be kept in check, otherwise they will outgrow their space and pruning now will have a beneficial effect.
Summer flowering shrubs such as fuchsia can be cut hard back in the spring to again encourage new growth and plenty of flowers.
Grasses such as Miscanthus and other deciduous grasses can be cut back from March to April. Remove all the brown growth leaving any new green stems behind.
Do not prune any spring flowering blooming shrubs such as forsythia and lilacs.
Planting Beds
March is a good time for planting new hardy perennials as the soil is starting to warm up and this encourages growth.
To prepare herbaceous beds fork over the bare areas and mix in plenty of well-rotted manure or compost. Clear out any weeds.
Plants described as ‘Hardy Perennial’ mean it should stand up to average low winter temperatures and come up each year for several years.
Herbaceous perennial plants do not need to be planted every year because they can live for many years. Herbaceous perennials are those that die down to the ground each year but whose roots remain alive and send up new top growth each year. Examples of these are:
Achillea Penstemon
Echinacea Rudbeckia
Hardy Geraniums Salvia
Helenium Sedum spectabile
Japanese anemones Verbena bonariensis
Lawns
- Aerate the lawn to prevent waterlogging. If yours is still squelchy, spike it with a garden fork every 15cm. You can sweep sharp river sand into the holes to help the ground dry out and help prevent future waterlogging.
- Scarify it to remove moss and dead grass so air can get through to the roots.
- Recut edges using a half-moon iron or spade.
- Feed the grass with a lawn fertiliser mix to give it the balance of nutrients that slowly release for the rest of the season. Measure your lawn and weigh out the right amount of fertiliser before sprinkling it evenly across the area.
- Water the grass thoroughly to wash the fertiliser into the soil. This stops it scorching the leaves and lets the roots take it up.
Potatoes
Potatoes are grown from specially prepared ‘seed potatoes’ (small tubers), usually planted in spring. With these early varieties, the seed potatoes can be Chitted that is encourages to sprout, this gives them a good start and hopefully produce an early crop
As the plants grow, soil can be gradually piled up around the stems, known as earthing up, to bury the developing tubers.
If you don’t have room for a whole row of potatoes, you can grow just a few in a small bed or large container.
Plant first early potatoes between the end of February and late May
Planting in containers
If you don’t have space in the ground, you can grow potatoes in large containers. Early varieties are the most suitable, as the plants are smaller and mature more quickly. Choose a container at least 30cm (12in) wide and deep, and half-fill with 15cm (6in) of peat-free multi-purpose compost. Plant one seed potato per 30cm (12in) of pot diameter. As the plant grows earth them up as for ones planted in the ground.
Potatoes are ready to harvest when any flowers that bloomed begin to fade or unopened flower buds drop off, and the foliage starts to turn yellow from vibrant green.
Chillies and Tomatoes
Sowing seeds including chillies and tomatoes and placing them in a greenhouse or on a warm windowsill will give them a long growing season.
