KJFM NEWS –  Garden Talk is produced monthly at the Adair County University of Missouri Extension Center in Kirksville, Mo.

MARCH GARDENING TIPS

Ornamentals

• Trees, shrubs and perennials may be planted as soon as they become available at local nurseries.
• To control iris borer, clean up and destroy the old foliage before new growth begins.
• Fertilize bulbs with a “bulb booster” formulation broadcast over the planting beds. Hose off any granules that stick to the foliage.
• Dormant mail order plants should be unwrapped immediately. Keep the roots from drying out, store in a cool protected spot, and plant as soon as conditions allow.
• Loosen winter mulches from perennials cautiously. Re-cover plants at night if frost returns. Clean up beds by removing all weeds and dead foliage at this time.
• Heavy pruning of trees should be complete before growth occurs. Trees should not be pruned while the new leaves are growing.
• Seeds of hardy annuals such as larkspur, bachelor’s buttons, Shirley and California poppies should be direct sown in the garden now.
• Summer and fall blooming perennials should be divided in spring.
• Ornamental grasses should be cut to the ground just as the new growth begins.
• Spring bedding plants, such as pansies and toadflax (Linaria), may be planted outdoors now.
• Apply a balanced fertilizer such as 6-12-12 to perennial beds when new growth appears.
• Apply sulfur to the soils around acid-loving plants such as azaleas, rhododendrons, hollies and dogwoods. Use a granular formulation at the rate of 1/2 pound per 100 square feet.
• Gradually start to pull back mulch from rose bushes.

Lawns

• Mow lawns low to remove old growth before new growth begins.
• Apply broadleaf herbicides now for control of cool-season perennial and annual weeds. These must not be applied to areas that will be seeded soon.
• Apply controls for wild garlic. It will take several years of annual applications for complete control.
• Thin spots and bare patches in the lawn can be over seeded now.

Vegetables

• Any root crops such as horseradish, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, or carrots still in the ground from last year should be harvested before new green top growth appears.
• Cultivate weeds and remove the old, dead stalks of last year’s growth from the asparagus bed before the new spears emerge.
• Fertilize the garden as the soil is being prepared for planting. Unless directed otherwise by a soil test, 1 to 2 pounds of 12-12-12 or an equivalent fertilizer per 100 square feet is usually sufficient.
• Delay planting if the garden soil is too wet. When a ball of soil crumbles easily after being squeezed together in your hand, it is dry enough to be safely worked.
• Asparagus and rhubarb roots should be planted as soon as the ground can be worked.
• Plant peas, lettuce, radishes, kohlrabi, mustard greens, collards, turnips, Irish potatoes, spinach and onions (seeds and sets) outdoors.
• Plant beets, carrots, parsley and parsnip seeds outdoors.
• Set out broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage and cauliflower transplants into the garden.
• Start seeds of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants indoors.

Fruits

• Gradually remove mulch from strawberries as the weather begins to warm.
• Continue pruning apple trees. Burn or destroy all prunings to minimize insect or disease occurrence.
• Continue pruning grapes. Bleeding causes no injury to the vines. Tie vines to the trellis before the buds swell to prevent bud injury and crop loss.
• Cleft and splice grafting can be done now. This must be completed before rootstocks break dormancy.
• Aphids begin to hatch on fruit trees as the buds begin to open.
• Apply dormant oil sprays now. Choose a dry day when freezing temperatures are not expected.
• Spray peach trees with a fungicide for the control of peach leaf curl disease.
• Mulch all bramble fruits for weed control.
• Peaches and nectarines should be pruned just before they bloom.

Miscellaneous

• Red maples begin to bloom.
• Set up nesting boxes for bluebirds.
• Watch for the harbinger of spring (Erigenia bulbosa) blooming in rich wooded areas.
• Spicebush is blooming in moist woodlands.
• Raise purple martin houses this week.
• Purple martins return to the St. Louis area.
• The white flowers of serviceberry (Amelanchier) and wild plum (Prunus americana) are showy in wooded areas.
• Watch for the fuzzy blooms of the pussy willow (Salix).