Spring Gardening Chores: March

Planning:

• Choose planting areas based on exposure to sun, shade and wind; consider distance from water source
• Test soil for pH and type before major planting

Chores and Maintenance:

• Carefully remove winter mulches from planting beds
• Dig beds in preparation for spring planting as soon as earth is workable
• Add compost in 2 to 3 inch layers and work into planting bed soil
• Remove protective cover from evergreens
• Reset frost heaved plants
• Apply horticultural oil sprays to dormant trees and shrubs before buds open and if there is no danger of night frost
• As ground becomes workable, dethatch lawn; fill in low spots with soil; fertilize established lawns

Planting:

• Sow seeds of annuals and vegetables indoors which require 10 to 12 weeks before transplanting
• Sow radish and lettuce seeds directly into the vegetable garden
• Plant cold weather vegetables like spinach, peas, lettuce and broccoli as soon as soil is workable
• Divide and transplant summer-blooming perennials
• Soak mail order, bare-root plants before planting

Pruning/ Fertilizing:

• Prune all plant materials to remove any diseased, dead, weak or crossing branches
• Complete tree pruning before new growth begins
• Prune late-flowering shrubs such as buddleja and hydrangea paniculata but wait until after flowering on early flowering shrubs such as forsythia, hydrangea macrophylla, rhododendron and syringa
• Wait to prune evergreens, hedges and other shrubs until late spring into early summer
• Prune all fruit trees before growth begins
• Prune hybrid tea roses, floribunda and grandiflora roses, but wait until after flowering on climbers and ramblers
• Cut back ornamental grasses to new shoots
• Fertilize deciduous, broad-leaved and needle-leaved evergreens if not fed in the fall
• Fertilize and lime vegetable garden

Indoors:

• Begin to transplant pot bound houseplants
• Continue to inspect for pests and control as needed
• Cut back leggy houseplants

*These gardening tips are applicable for an average year in the southeastern New York region: USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 7a and 7b, which include New York City, Northern New Jersey, most of Rockland and Westchester Counties, Southern Connecticut, and parts of Long Island. Plant hardiness zones refer to geographic areas where the growing season of plants is determined by the time of killing frosts in the spring and fall. Even within zones, climatic factors such as altitude, proximity to water, wind exposure, winter sun exposure and snow cover contribute to the existence of different "microclimates" and can influence plant adaptability.