Stay on track with essential gardening activities for this month, including planting, pruning, lawn care, and seasonal maintenance tasks.

Plant 

Fruit Trees and roses. Plant/move/divide perennials. Cool weather vegetables, Asparagus, Broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, lettuce, chard, onions, and potatoes, should be planted this month.

Summer and fall blooming bulbs (except caladiums)

Fertilize

All the garden except spring flowering shrubs and warm season lawns (Bermuda and Zoysia)

Prune

Before new growth appears. cut down monkey grass; use a string trimmer for large areas. Ornamental Grasses cut to 3-6” above the ground. Hold off pruning spring flowering shrubs until after blooming.  Rejuvenate overgrown Nandina, cutting back to a few inches on the outside, leaving taller canes in the center, staggering the heights.

Lawn Care

Apply a pre-emergent herbicide to your lawn. The timing of application is important, and a good indicator is to do it just as forsythia begins to show some color.

Other

Apply 2 inches of mulch in beds. Remove dead flowers from flowering bulbs. Hang hummingbird feeders. Begin spraying roses for blackspot.  Check for lace bugs on azaleas and pyracantha and spray if necessary.  Remove straw protection from strawberry plants before bloom.

Attend

Master Gardeners “Spring Fling” Free gardening event, speakers, demonstrations, and vendors. Agricenter International Wing C & D, 7777 Walnut Grove Rd, Memphis, TNFree parking and admission

Daffodil Show at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens March 14-15, Free admission and parking. Enter your own daffodils and daffodil photographs for the Show. Details on Dixon web site