Gardening Tips for March

March is a guessing game in the garden. Will it warm up soon? Will it stay warm? Will the rains start/stop? About the only thing we can count on is that March will soon turn to April when hopefully we can all get out and about in the garden.

Planting

This month roses will begin that first bloom.

Azaleas and camellias are best planted while blooming. They began their blooming in February, so March is right in the middle of their blooming season. Please don’t feed your camellias until they have completed their blooming. If you do, they will drop all remaining buds. Fertilise to reward the plant after the blooming ends.

Spring colour plants are arriving! Brighten up your gardens with perennials and annuals. Look for perennials such as campanula, columbine, coral bells, delphinium, foxglove (digitalis), diascia, penstemon, salvia, yarrow and so much more. Great annuals to pick from include celosia, coleus, dianthus, linaria, lobelia, marigolds, nicotiana, petunias, salvias, and verbena.

There is still time for planting bulbs!

And, don’t forget to start your vegetable gardens! Veggies as the cabbage family (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli), squash, lettuce, spinach, peppers, and cool season tomatoes will be in this month. This is also a good time not only to prune back herbs from last year, but also add in new plants such as chives, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme.

Maintenance Duties

Fertilise your lawns and roses.

Snails will coming be out to munch on the tender new growth. So stay alert.

Now is also the time to divide perennials such as agapanthus, callas, daylilies, rudbeckia, and daisies. Those with fuchsias can cut them back two-thirds toward the main branches. Remember to leave 2-5 leaf bud/scars for new growth.

You can begin pruning your ornamental shrubs (pittosporum, boxwood, etc.) for hedges. Wait to prune spring-flowering shrubs and trees until their blooming is over.

And if anyone has any specific gardening questions they would like answering, please feel free to email us; info@davidcheethamgardens.co.uk

Happy Gardening!!

Regards
David Cheetham MSGD

Bedding Plants

Bedding plants can provide colour in your garden all the year round by replacing Summer flowering plants with selections for Autumn and Winter. They are ideal for planting on their own or with most other plants in a whole range of situations such as hanging baskets, tubs and pots, window boxes, troughs and of course in borders in the garden.

Preparation

For a colourful display thorough preparation is essential. Ensure you have good drainage in containers and good potting compost for plants to grow in. Prepare borders in the garden, first by well forking over to a depth of about 30cm (12in), adding a general fertiliser and some form of planting compost before planting starts.

Selecting your plants

Plants are grown in all sorts of trays and pots from small starter plants to larger plants which offer instant colour. Whatever you choose select sturdy plants which are green and healthy. Check that the leaves have not been eaten and are free from pests and diseases. Never buy plants that are dry or have been allowed to dry out.

Planting

1. Water plants well before planting.
2. Taller plants will give height and trailing or bushy plants will give depth and width.
3. Take care when removing your plants from their tray or pots so as not to damage the roots or shoots. Watering them before removal will help prevent this.
4. Never plant too firmly as roots need to breathe and expand the area they are covering.
5. Plant to just below the depth they were grown in their original container.
6. Plant so that they will just touch each other when fully grown - refer to the plant label but as a general rule plant shorter growing types 10-15cm (4-6ins) apart and taller varieties 23-30cm (9-12ins) apart.

Borders

In borders place tall plants to the rear reducing heights gradually using compact edging plants at the front - do not over crowd - all plants need room to grow.

Colours

It is important to blend colours together - try planting drifts of colour in borders. Use 'hot' colours - reds, yellows, oranges, or 'cool' colours - blues, lavender, silver and white for different effects. The garden is an extension of your home - use colour schemes as you would indoors

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Feeding

Plants are like people and need feeding to give the best results. Use a dry controlled release fertiliser at planting time which should feed for most of the growing and flowering season. Use a liquid feed towards the end of the Summer as a pick-me-up but water well first to ensure good take up.

Watering

Hanging baskets may require watering more than once a day, especially during hot weather. If the compost does dry out, water thoroughly and repeat. Create good drainage to prevent water logging in containers. After planting new plants, water thoroughly.

Winter Colour For Your Garden

Although winter approaches with shorter days and colder, wet weather, your garden needn't look lifeless and bland. With some creative planning using a combination of texture and colour, any outdoor space can look rich and vibrant over the coming months.

The key at this time of year is to plant your flowering plants nearer to your house in blocks of colour especially close to windows and along pathways. This will help to give the impression that the whole of your garden is still in bloom.

Whites, pinks and purples look good together and will create a brilliant winter display. Complementary plants are winter violas, pansies and dusty miller (Senecio Cineraria). Evergreen grasses, such as Carex, Acorus, blend beautifully with ornamental kale and cabbage and make great focal points. Flowering kale is also a great accent for evergreen ground cover and looks amazing planted below trees and winter flowering shrubs like Viburnum ‘Pink Dawn’.

There are many versatile trees, shrubs and plants that can give depth and texture to your garden and bring amazing colour with flowers, berries and leaves. You don’t have to worry if you have limited planting beds either, as many of these plants will also thrive in pots with the right care and attention.

Selection of winter colour plants and shrubs.

• Ilex Aquifolium J.C. Van Tol - English Holly: Dark, almost spineless green leaves and large, regular crops of red fruit
• Daphne Mezereum – Daphne: Well-known, sweet scented deciduous shrub flowering in February and March. Purple red flowers followed by scarlet fruits
• Callicarpa profusion - Beauty Berry: Free-fruiting shrub with bronze-purple foliage and dense clusters of violet fruits
• Chimonanthus praecox- Winter-sweet: Flowers around Christmas with beautiful purple centred yellow
• Helleborus Niger - Christmas Rose: Very easy to grow and blooming from Autumn through until spring
• Erica carnea - Springwood White (cultivar): Low-growing sub shrub reaching 10-25 cm in height. Evergreen needle leaves and dark red bell shaped flowers
• Lonicera Fragrantissima - Shrubby honeysuckle: Lovely flowering species with delicate creamy white flowers
• Corylus Avellana Contorta - Corkscrew Hazel: Easily to grow and very interesting visually, branches literally do corkscrew with beautiful rich green
• Garry Elliptica- Silk- tassel bush: Long tassels hang from this impressive plant during winter and early Spring, very unusual plant that complements more traditional plants in the garden
• Gaultheria Mucronata - Prickly heath: Evergreen shrub with dark green glossy leaves and clusters of small white flowers and purple fruit