What gardening tasks to Do in March
The North
Shrub-cuttings taken last fall and buried in the ground during winter should be planted 6 inches apart in the row and 2 feet between rows as soon as possible. Allow an inch or two of the cuttings to project above the ground. Never allow them to dry before planting.
Dormant sprays of oil and lime-sulphur must be applied before the buds start growing; otherwise serious injury may result.
Lawns should be given at least one rolling while the ground is still soft and wet.
Strawberries should have the mulch raked from the plants but left in the rows between them for cleaner berries.
The Silver Fleecevine (Polygonum auberti) will give amazing results the first season, besides blooming profusely during the entire late summer or early fall. The vines will generally freeze to the soil. They start from the soil in the spring like herbaceous perennials.
Moss on the lawn is an indication of starvation, not of a sour soil. Therefore, the moss should be removed and an application of a complete high-test plant food dug into the soil.
The asparagus bed may be heavily salted, about 6 pounds to 100 square feet, to control the weeds. Asparagus is one of the few cultivated plants whose cell sap is so dense that we can kill the weeds and not affect the asparagus.
Unusual Vegetables. The vegetable garden should include many varieties that are not usually seen in the market. Try some of the various salad plants and some of the less common types of the cabbage family, as well as celeriac, or root celery.
Annual flower seeds may be sown as soon as the ground is tillable. Sow part of your seed now, the remainder in April.
Sodium chlorate may be used to control ground-ivy. Though it should have been applied last fall, it may be applied this spring. It will burn the grass temporarily, but it is worth this disfigurement to rid the lawn of this obnoxious weed. One to two ounces of sodium chlorate to one gallon of water, applied with a sprayer, should give complete control. Shortly afterwards, to rejuvenate the sod, fertilize well with a high-test, well-balanced plant food.
Pruning. Prune severely Kerria, Spirea Anthony Waterer, Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, Snowhill Hydrangea, beautyberry, Red-osier Dogwood, Chaste-tree (Vitex), and shrub-althea (Hibiscus).
Prune (by removing dead canes) shrub roses, honeysuckles, snowberries, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries, and currants. Late this month or early next, prune back Hybrid Tea Roses to 6 inches and Hybrid Perpetuals to 24 inches.
Planting. Plant all kinds of shrubbery, hedges, evergreens, fruit trees, bush fruits, grapes, and dormant roses as soon as frost is out of the ground.
Lawns. Make new lawns as soon as the ground can be worked.
Build Now. Build arches, walks, drives, and coldframes. Train vines over arbors already built.
Rock Garden. Alpine-plant seeds can be planted in pots or flats and left outside, covered with burlap. Freezing will aid germination.
Spring. Your last chance for dormant spraying is early this month.
Iris Borer. Clean off iris beds, taking away all dead leaves. Some gardeners recommend burning over if bothered with iris borer.
Water Evergreens. If the weather is dry, abundantly water the evergreens planted this month or last fall.
Lilies. Plant lily bulbs by the last of month.
Early vegetables may be planted now, but for the most part it will be best to wait until the weather is settled.
Plant seeds of tomatoes, celery, eggplant, and cabbage indoors, transplanting to the hotbed or garden later. Bake the dirt in the oven before the seeds are planted. Sprinkle the seedlings often and keep the boxes in warm, sunny locations.
Compost heaps should be started this spring if you do not already have one. Select a corner of the garden which is hidden from view. On this heap throw all dead grass, leaves, decayed vegetable matter, wood ashes, and the like. Continue this practice all summer and next spring you will have some good rich soil at the bottom of the pile for your flower garden.
Search out the insect cocoons and destroy them before they hatch. Burn all caterpillar nests that are usually found closely attached to twigs of trees.
Spray with lime-sulphur all trees, shrubs, vines, and bushes which have deciduous foliage. This spray should be applied when buds are swelling. Spray apple trees just before the leaf buds open. A hand-sprayer is a necessary part of the home-gardener’s equipment.
Bulbs should be uncovered now.
Sweet Peas should be planted just as early as possible. Dig trenches 18 inches deep as soon as the weather permits; sow the seeds, covering lightly. As the plants grow, rake in the dirt about them. Buy the best seeds and be sure to soak them before planting.
The West Coast
Butterflybush. Prune back butter-flybush (Buddleia) severely.
Cuttings. Take cuttings of begonias, geraniums, Justicias, Impatiens, and Coleus.
Roses with bare roots can still be planted safely this month.
Montbretias or Tritonias are related to the gladiolus, except that they remain in the soil year after year, increasing in beauty and profusion of bloom. The flowers range in color from deep reds to pure yellow. The bulbs should be planted now.
Sow in seed flats seeds of China-asters, Bellis, Canterbury bells, columbines, coreopsis, gaillardia, petunia, Shasta Daisy, and other annuals and perennials best handled this way.
Lawns. This is the best month to make a new lawn and sow grass seed.
The South
Background Plants. The New Orleans Garden Society advises the following as good for quick-growing tall plants; palms, elephant-ear or taro, ricepaper-plant (Tetrapanax), castor-bean, Globe Artichoke, and tall golden-rod.
Lawns and Roses. Early this month give roses an application of plant food. Remove the protection about the fifteenth; prune them, and cultivate well.
Divide many perennials, such as Shasta Daisies, phlox, gaillardias, and others.
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