Seasonal Care Calendar

SPRING – MARCH

Overview

March brings the first real signs of Spring.  Winds help to dry out the top layers of soil and showers, combined with warmer sunshine, help to produce early growth of perennials and Spring-flowering shrubs.

Essential Tasks

• Protect new Spring shoots from slugs
• Top dress containers with fresh compost
• Mow the lawn on dry days (if needed)
• Weeds come back into growth – deal with them before they get out of hand.

Seasonal Tasks

• Planting: Check for losses of any plants which may not recover due to harsh Winter weather and replant where necessary.
• Remove faded blooms and earlier flowered bulbs.
• Feed borders with a general fertiliser.
• Top up mulch.

Pruning

• Shrubs: Summer flowering clematis
• Roses (first of two): Hybrid tea and floribunda
• Trees: Most summer flowering deciduous tree
• Cut shoots to within two to four buds of the framework branches.
• Prune yellowed, damaged and intrusive stems.
• Prune late Summer or Autumn flowering shrubs.

Weed Control

Annual Weeds

(e.g. chickweed, goosegrass, shepherds purse, bittercress)

Clear both aerial parts and roots of weeds.

In order to keep the ground clear of weeds either:

• apply a chemical germination retardant to reduce re-infestation of annual weeds, or
• apply a thick (7-8cm) layer of mulch (e.g. pulverized or chipped bark, cocoa shells, pebbles over weed mat) to reduce surface germination of new weeds

For garden areas already mulched, check the thickness of the mulch and renew where necessary.

Perennial Weeds

(e.g. ground elder, bindweed, nettles, mares tail)

• Leave above ground growth (aerial parts) until the leaves are large enough to treat with a systemic weed killer and treat, being careful to keep any treatment off ornamental or culinary plants.
• Alternatively, thoroughly and carefully dig out roots and top growth of perennial weeds as they arise.  In most cases any roots left in the soil will produce new shoots.  Where these appear, carefully remove without breaking off the roots.  Re-check for further re-growth once a week until eliminated.