March

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Chores and Maintenance

  • Rake perennial beds to prepare for compost or fertilizer
  • Edge beds
  • Cut cold-season ornamental grasses to the ground
  • Prune roses before the buds swell
  •  Winter pruning (see shrub pruning calendar)

Pest Control

  • Apply dormant oil to shrubs and trees to smother overwintering insects and eggs
  • To make your own: add 1/2 cup of canola or safflower oil and a few drops of dishwashing liquid to one gallon of water. Spray when above 50 degrees. 

Spring-Flowering Trees and Shrubs

  • Any time now, you can cut stems of forsythia, pussy willow, crab apple, witch hazel and quince. Bring them indoors, give the stems water, light and warmth (65 degrees F. max). They will bloom for you in only two weeks time.