Get your garden ready for spring by completing these tasks in March. Once the weather warms up, your beds, borders, and containers will be ready for action.
Main Garden Jobs For March
- ➜ Cut back dogwood and willow plants to the ground to encourage new growth for next year’s bright winter stems.
- ➜ Prepare flower beds for sowing hardy annuals from late March to April.
- ➜ Mulchroses, fruit trees andshrubswith compost.
- ➜ Repothouseplantsandfernswith fresh compost and clean their leaves.
- ➜ Protectfruit treeblossoms withfrost protectionat night and remove covers during the day for insects.
- ➜ Washclochesand frames with soapy water to remove dirt and algae.
- ➜ Check and maintaingarden toolsand mowers.
- ➜ Inspectbird boxesandfeedersfor damage before fixing them on a tree or wall, away from cats.
- ➜ Prepareraised bedsfor early seed sowings, and use cloches or polythene tunnels for warmth and protection.
- ➜ Sow crops like beetroot, carrots,parsnip, radishandspring onionsin warm soil by covering the surface with black sheeting to absorb sun rays.
March Flowering Plants
- ➜ After flowering, cut back stems ofearly spring-blooming bulbsand leave the foliage to die naturally.
- ➜ Plantbegonia tubersin pots with moist compost, keeping them warm and bright and watering occasionally.
- ➜ Plantdahlia tubersin compost trays to encourage shoots and roots.
- ➜ Divide large clumps ofperennialsandsnowdrop bulbswhile they are still flowering.
- ➜ Prunebush rosesby cutting back damaged, dead, or diseased stems by half, just above an outward-facing bud.
- ➜ Sow summerbedding plantslike impatiens,cosmos,gazania, petunias,lobeliaandmarigoldin a heatedgreenhouseor indoors, or sow hardy annuals like anchusa,calendula,clarkia, larkspur andnigelladirectly in the garden.
- ➜ Plantsweet pea plugsin sunny borders orpotsand tie their stems to support faster growth.
- ➜ Plantanemone bulbsin beds and borders.
Pots, Baskets + Containers
- ➜ Tidy up overwinteredfuchsiasby removing dead leaves, stems, and pests, and repotting them with fresh compost.
- ➜ Placepotswithspring-flowering bulbsin prominent spots in the garden.
- ➜ Plantsummer-flowering bulbslikeliliesin decorative pots & planters.
Lawn Care In March
- ➜ Prepare new areas for sowinggrass seedby digging out perennial weeds and leveling the surface.
- ➜ Give established lawns their first cut, just trimming the leaf tips.
- ➜ Use lawn sand or moss killer to control moss.
- ➜ Sow self-repairing lawn seed in worn or bald patches.
- ➜Maintain tidy lawnedges with a sharpedgingtool.
Pond Care In March
- ➜ Putfountainsandfeaturesback in the pond once the risk of frost has passed.
- ➜ Letoxygenating plantscontrol algae levels, or use a natural deterrent likebarley straw.
- ➜ Start regularly feeding pond fish as the weather warms up.
- ➜ Remove pond heaters and clean them for next winter’s use.
- ➜ Clear away winter debris and scoop out leaves with a net orpond filter.