Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

March, 2008

Garden Checklist for March, 2008


by Dr. William C. Welch, Professor & Landscape Horticulturist,
Texas AgriLife Extension Service, College Station, TX

lycoris squamigera
Permanent bulb plantings such as this Lycoris squamigera need little tending, and are best for the colder areas of Texas

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  • Plan for and invest in some permanent bulb plantings this year. Bulk bulbs are less costly than the small packages from nurseries or box stores. Once planted, the lawn may be mowed as usual after the foliage of the bulbs is dried.

  • Prepare beds for planting flowers and vegetables. You may want to consider renting or buying a garden tiller to speed up the process; however, a strong back and a garden fork will still do an excellent job.

  • For every 100 square feet of bed area, work in a several-inch layer of either compost, pine bark or sphagnum peat moss, plus 5 pounds of balanced fertilizer.

  • Check with your local county agent for the average last killing freeze date for your area. Remember that killing freezes can occur after this date.

  • Pruning of evergreens and summer flowering trees and shrubs should be completed in early March. Prune spring flowering trees and shrubs as soon as they finish blooming.

  • Select and order caladium tubers as well as geranium and coleus plants for late April and early May planting. Do not plant caladiums until soil temperature reaches 70 F.

  • As camellia and azalea plants finish blooming, fertilize them with three pounds of azalea-camellia fertilizer. Check mulch on azalea and camellia beds and add where needed.

  • In North Texas there is still time to plant seeds of your favorite annuals in flats to be transplanted out-of-doors when danger of frost is past.

  • Beware of close-out sales on bare-root trees and shrubs. The chance of survival is rather low on bare-root plants this late in the season. Your best bet at this time of year is to depend on container-grown or balled-and-burlapped plants for landscape use.

  • Start hanging baskets of petunias and other annuals for another dimension in landscape color.

  • Plant dahlia tubers in fertile, well-drained soil.

  • Dig and divide summer and fall flowering perennials just before they initiate their spring growth.

    Earth Kind uses research-proven techniques to provide maximum gardening and landscape performance while preserving and protecting the environment. For more information on Earth Kind Landscape Management Practices see our web site: https://earthkind.tamu.edu