Gardening Tips - Jobs in the Garden in March - Thompson & Morgan
Gardening Tips - Jobs in the Garden in March - Thompson & Morgan
Preparing your soil
If the soil is workable, dig in a 5cm (or more) layer of compost or well rotted manure into your beds to prepare for the growing season ahead. You can also work in a general purpose fertiliser such as pelleted chicken manure or fish, blood and bone.
Plant Herbaceous Perennials
Now is an ideal time to plant herbaceous perennials. Lift and divide established perennial plants now to improve their vigour and create new plants for your garden.
Sow your seeds ready for June
Sow your flower seeds now so they are ready for planting out in June.
Hardy annuals can be sown directly into the soil. Alternatively sow them in pots or module trays for planting out later in the spring.
Prune Clematis
Prune early-flowering Clematis once their flowers have finished and summer-flowering Clematis before they start into active growth - find out how using our clematis pruning guide.
Plant bare root roses.
Roses should be fed with a special rose feed as they come into growth.
Prune roses to encourage strong new growth. Remember to wear gardening gloves to protect from thorns.
Prune Winter Flowering Jasmine
Prune Winter Flowering Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) after flowering to encourage new growth for next year's blooms. Cut back the previous years growth to 5cm from the old wood.
If you need to move deciduous trees or shrubs, now is the time to do it provided the soil is not frozen or waterlogged.
Trim winter-flowering heathers as the flowers disappear, to prevent the plants becoming leggy.
Keep an eye out for slugs
Keep an eye out for slugs as the weather warms; they favour soft new growth.
Seed Potatoes
Don't forget to buy your Seed Potatoes
Dead Head Flowers and add supports to your plants
Continue to deadhead faded flowers from your winter pansies to stop them setting seed. This will encourage flushes of new flowers throughout the spring.
Deadhead daffodils as the flowers finish and let the foliage die back naturally.
If any of your garden plants will need supporting this year, put the supports in now so the plants grow up through them. Adding supports afterwards is difficult and often looks unattractive.