I can't believe it's March! The winter months flew by this year and I am so excited to get my hands in the dirt outside. I've made a list for you according to what I do here in my zone 6a/7b garden. By no means is it exhaustive, but it can give you a good idea of what you can plan to do this month in your garden.
Hellebore blooming in March
Outside-
Prune roses, fruit trees, and other woody shrubs that do not bloom in the spring. For those spring bloomers you want to wait to prune till after they bloom.
Spray dormant oil before your roses and fruit trees leaf out. Dormant oil can help suffocate any overwintered pests and keep aphids down to a minimum.
Direct sow some cold hardy annuals. I have a list of options down below.
Clean up any perennials that were not cleaned up in the fall. Cut back to any new growth you see. This might be my favorite task, the garden looks so fresh and clean, with peeks of new growth.
Take a soil test sample. Save yourself time and money before buying any fertilizer or amendments by knowing what you actually need. USU Analytical Lab has some great instructions on how to take soil samples.
Mid month you can plant out your first round of cold season hardy annuals and perennials. I'll be planting things like snapdragons, fox gloves, statice, scabiosa, feverfew, rudbeckia, forget me nots, delphinium, agrostemma, godetia, phlox, dianthus, stock, yarrow, and more. These were all started indoors in January and February.
Inside- (you know that there will be at least a few snowy or rainy days this month)
Sharpen your tools! Treat those hard working tools to a little spa day. They will work much better for you when they're sharp and clean.
Divide your dahlia tubers. This gives you an idea of how much space you'll need to plant all your tubers, and if you have some to share.
Towards the end of the month you can start some of those warm tender annuals and vegetables that have a slower growth rate. Hold off on anything quick growing though, like zinnias or cosmos. I'll have a list down below.
Snapdragon plug ready to plant mid-March
Seeds to start -
Direct sown flowers- Ammi, agrostemma, larkspur, nigella, bells of Ireland, bachelor buttons, bupleurum, scabiosa, baby's breath
Indoors- snapdragons, feverfew, scabiosa, delphinium, phlox, digitalis, straw flower, yarrow, stock, rudbeckia, statice, godetia, gomphrena, ageratum
Direct sown vegetables- peas, carrots, lettuce, spinach, chard, kale, radish, turnips
Indoors- peppers, tomatoes towards the middle to end of the month.
Plant out these vegetables- broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage
Happy gardening in March! See you with a new list in April.