Judge when to plant by the weather, not the date
To most people March means spring, but anyone who’s been gardening for a few years will tell you that our weather has scant regard for dates, calendars or sowing timetables. All we gardeners can do is bide our time and wait for some warmth, because sowing into cold, wet soil will get you nowhere.
Be cautious when planting half-hardy bedding too, such as geraniums and petunias, which will be available now, but will not survive frosty nights if planted outdoors. Keep displays of winter pansies, violas and primulas looking colourful instead by deadheading regularly and perking them up with a balanced liquid feed.
First-early seed potatoes can also be planted in March, but only in the second half of the month and delay planting if the weather is cold or wet: better to chit tubers for an extra week or two, than have them rot in chilly soil. Hardy early varieties of peas and broad beans can be sown outdoors, but other vegetables are best left until the end of the month, unless the soil has been warmed under cloches or plastic. Try starting some beetroot, carrots, radishes, lettuce, leeks and kale in modules in a greenhouse or cold frame to get a head start, and definitely sow heat-loving peppers, aubergines and tomatoes in a heated propagator or on a warm windowsill, for planting into the greenhouse later.
Whatever the weather, there will be stirrings of life in the garden now, and it’s important to get old growth cleared to make way for new shoots. Prune late summer-flowering shrubs, such as Buddleja davidii, Leycesteria and hardy fuchsias, to encourage
Sow heat-loving peppers, aubergines and tomatoes in a heated propagator
plenty of strong new flowering stems. Salix and Cornus grown for colourful winter stems should also be stooled (pruned back to their base) now. Bush roses need pruning back by about two-thirds of their height, to healthy outward-facing buds, before their leaves unfurl. Remove dead flowerheads left on hydrangeas over winter, cutting back to a pair of healthy, green buds.
Another key job is to weed beds and borders and mulch with a thick layer of well-rotted compost. This not only keeps the soil in good heart, but also helps suppress weeds, which makes it well worth the effort. Give plants in containers the same treatment, by topping up their pots with fresh compost, or repotting those that have outgrown their container. Lift and divide any aged herbaceous perennials or those that are choked with weeds, and don’t forget to give the lawn its first cut. Once you smell the fresh clippings you know that spring can’t be far away. n