March Madness

March is the month that is reputed to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb. Seems like February already took that honor, so what else can we say about March?

It is a GREEN month! Not only is it a month represented by St Patrick and shamrocks, it is a surefire time to get the veggies planted. If you were hedging because of the weather in February, just remember that March is safe to plant. Get your veggies planted, change out from winter to summer color and plant those summer-enjoyable bulbs like gladiolus, cannas and caladiums.

It will be warmer and as the blooms open and plants start doing their thing…so do the bugs. Be prepared for the aphids and whiteflies, as they show up first and it takes about 6 weeks for the beneficial insect predators to catch up, so try to spray sparingly. The first new growth of the season is especially tasty to the critters, so gather your products and make a regular cruise through your garden to be on top of them before they take over.

It will be warmer during the day, which will make your landscape and lawn grow happily. Feed sparingly but consistently for even healthy growth. The growth will be more even, and you won’t need to prune a lot of rabid growth off immediately. Remember that just because a little works well you don’t need to use a lot. Think of it as medication, if it says to use two, don’t use eight…

It is time to turn the sprinklers back on, because the daily temperature will be high enough that your plants will appreciate it. Make sure that your time is set properly and walk though to see that all the sprinkler heads or drip emitters are working properly and are not clogged. Getting this done before the heat arrives is much easier on the plants (and you) than trying to figure it out in the summer.

Now we just need March, April and May to share the warm days and cool nights so we can enjoy spring!