Tips

MARCH

Tips provided courtesy of Thelma Barnett and Ernestine Woodall of the Green Thumbs Garden Club.

• Daffodils are blooming in every yard. If you have old clumps that have few flowers, they are probably too crowded. They will have to be dug up and separated. Wait until the green leaves have died off which could be a month or more. Dig them up and allow them to dry; then store them in a cool, dry place and replant in October.
• Now is an excellent time to plant both broadleaf and narrowleaf evergreens. It is also a good time to put in a Magnolia grandiflora. Choose one of the smaller, more compact varieties like Bracken’s Brown Beauty and plant where you want a tall evergreen with spectacular blooms. Remember, it will grow tall and needs some space to spread its wings.
• It is not too late to prune large shrubs and other plants that have gotten out of shape. Roses can also be pruned now. (Among older gardeners, George Washington’s birthday used to be the preferred date for rose pruning.) Don’t wait much later for pruning as our warm days that come and go this time of year encourage growth to begin.
• Now is a good time for getting new flower beds ready for spring planting. Dig at least twelve inches in depth and add organic materials, especially to clay soils. Some organic materials to use are animal manure, peat or peat moss, leaf mold , and, of course, compost.
• We are having enough warm days to make many plants begin to show green shoots that will be tender if hit by frost. Don’t wrap your shrubs up if a cold wave warning is predicted. It just makes them more susceptible to damage. Drive stakes around shrubs and make a screen of burlap or other fabric to protect them. Add mulch to young plants just breaking the ground. You can remove it later after the cold passes if necessary. Choose the varieties that you plant carefully and look for cold hardiness.
• Pre-emergence crabgrass preventer should be applied now, or at least by March 15. And now is the time to sow fescue seed in your lawn.

Provided by: Garden Clubs and Garden Club Members of The Greenville Council of Garden Clubs, Inc. The Council’s Headquarters are located at the Historic Kilgore-Lewis House, 560 N. Academy Street in Downtown Greenville. (visit the Council website www.kilgore-lewis.org for information on becoming a Garden Club member)