Added on March 6, 2023 Sara Swanson

March 2023 Gardening Advice

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page Send by Email

submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill

That weather was fun, huh?! Well, no, it wasn’t, actually. I hope everyone came out of it in generally good shape — that your power has been restored, your house didn’t sustain any damage from falling tree branches or limbs, and that you didn’t lose too much of the food in your refrigerator and freezer. I genuinely appreciate the hard work the power company crews put in to get things back up again, but it was sure not a lot of fun for those people who had to spend days in the dark and cold.

For the most part, my home came through the storm in pretty good shape. We had some branches down around the property but nothing close to the house. There are also a couple of smallish trees in the tree line along the edge of the property that look like they are coming out of the ground — they’ll likely need to be removed to avoid risking hurting anyone if they do end up pulling all the way out, which, with how wet the ground is, is a real likelihood. The worst thing that happened was that a weeping willow tree that my husband and I planted when it was no bigger than a little branch with roots — and which had grown to 25 or 30 feet tall over the last 20 or so years — suffered a great deal of damage and probably won’t survive. The good news is that I was able to cut a number of green branches off that I have potted up in my basement and will plant outdoors in the spring, once they have formed some roots, ensuring that my tree will live on.

March is an unpredictable month, weather-wise, and I have a feeling that this one is going to be even more so than usual, considering how crazy February was. Regardless, there should be opportunities to get outdoors this month, and when it’s too wet, cold, or otherwise inhospitable, there’s still lots to do indoors to get ready for spring gardening season!

Outdoors:

First things first — have you assessed the damage to your trees and shrubs from the ice storm yet? If not, make that a priority so that you can decide what needs to be done. If you’re lucky, you may just need to go around and pick up some debris. For a lot of us, clean-up will involve doing some pruning to clean up the mess. For some, like me, we may need to have entire trees removed because the damage is too severe for the tree to survive or the tree is left in such a condition that it’s a danger to people, pets, or structures. Whatever the case for you, know your limitations. If the job requires climbing ladders with chain saws — don’t do it! Hiring a professional is really the best thing in those situations, as they have the equipment and expertise to deal with such problems. For more manageable jobs, making sure to use proper pruning techniques is important for the long-term health of your trees and shrubs.
Be sure to get done whatever other pruning you want to do soon. Some trees are already showing signs that they are coming out of dormancy, which is a bit early due to the unusually warm temperatures we’ve been having this winter. Pruning while trees are dormant is best for a number of reasons, including reducing the likelihood of introducing disease and giving the pruning wounds time to heal before growing season begins.
One way to bring spring into your home a little early is to take some cuttings of forsythia, pussy willow, quince, cherry trees, and other flowering shrubs and trees for forcing indoors. The Chicago Botanic Garden has a helpful video at https://www.chicagobotanic.org/blog/how_to/forcing_branches_bloom_indoors that offers really great tips for choosing the best branches and cutting them properly for forcing.
With the crazy weather we’ve had this year, it’s hard to say whether frost heave is more or less likely to be an issue than other years. I haven’t had a chance to look around my perennial beds yet to find out, so can’t say for sure, but when things have dried up a little bit, it wouldn’t hurt to check perennials to make sure they have not been pushed out of the ground by frost heave. If they have, gently press them back down to prevent damage to the roots and plant. Follow up with a good layer of mulch to protect from future thaw-and-re-freeze cycles that, if last month is any indication, we will likely see this month.
Stay off the lawn and out of garden beds as much as possible while the ground is wet. Wet soil is easily compacted by walking on it, and compacted soil is very difficult for anything to grow in.
Doing a soil test this month can help you know what your plants or grass need before you start adding fertilizers. You can send away for a comprehensive test kit from the MSU extension at https://homesoiltest.msu.edu/get-started.
There’s a tradition that says Saint Patrick’s Day is the time to plant peas. I have yet to see a Michigan Saint Patty’s Day that is warm enough for that, but maybe this will be the year. Or not. Who knows what our weather will be this month? The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center is saying that we are leaning toward warmer and wetter than average over the next few months, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see more snow and ice yet. The best way to know whether it’s time to plant anything outdoors is to check the soil temperature. Every seed has a range of soil temperatures in which they will germinate. Outside of that range, your seeds may not germinate, or they will take significantly longer to do so. For peas, the range is 40° to 85°, with 75° being ideal.

Indoors

Have you finished making a plan for your gardens yet? If not, don’t wait. It really does help to have a plan for what you want to grow so that you’ll be able to get what you need early in the season. Too often, people come in after gardening season is well underway looking for a very specific seed/plant/tool/plant support/fertilizer, etc., saying they’ve been everywhere and can’t find it. If you make a plan early, and then start looking early, you are far more likely to find what you want.
Seed starting season is upon us. If you haven’t started parsley yet and you want to, do that now — it’s a bit slow to germinate so it needs a little extra time to be ready for planting outdoors. Broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and most herbs should be started in mid month, though basil can be started at the end of the month or in early April. Start tomatoes and peppers around the end of the month or the first part of April so that they will be mature enough to be planted outdoors by Memorial Day, which is always my target date for getting those in the garden. If you want to get yours in your garden sooner than that, start your seeds earlier, but realize that these warm weather–loving plants won’t do well if it’s still chilly outside when they are planted out.
March is also a good time to get flowers started, if you want to grow your own. I like to grow some of my own, simply because I can get varieties that I might not be able to find in nurseries, and it’s less expensive. Start zinnias early in the month, and amaranth, catmint, cleome, echinacea, gaillardia, nigella, stock, and thunbergia by mid- to late March.
Begin fertilizing indoor plants that you were letting rest over the winter. Also, now is a great time to repot any of your indoor plants that need it — before you get so involved with everything that needs to be done outdoors that you can’t get to them. If some of your plants are getting really big, split them into a few smaller ones so that you don’t have one huge plant that you can’t move! If you don’t have room for all those little ones, give them away as gifts!
I have had a couple of recent conversations with people about whether you can use old potting soil, so maybe it’s a topic others are curious about. There is really no reason not to use old potting soil, unless it has been stored outdoors where bacteria could be an issue. The one thing to be sure to do with old potting soil is to rehydrate it. Soil dries out the longer it sits, even if the bag has never been opened. Dry soil does not hold water well, and it becomes a losing battle to keep your plant well hydrated when it starts out with dry soil. Simply mix your soil well with water, stirring until the soil is evenly moist — kind of like when you’re making a cake and want the dry ingredients to be well combined with the moist ingredients. I keep a small trug handy for just this purpose (mixing soil, not cake batter!), but a bucket or even a large bowl can also work.
If you stored tender bulbs over the winter, check them now and discard any that are soft, damaged, or diseased.
If you potted spring-blooming bulbs for forcing last fall, check their progress. They may have already started coming up because the weather has confused them as much as it has us! When they have a few inches of growth, it’s time to move them into a cool (60°) sunny spot, but not in direct sunlight. Once they have flowered, move them into a warmer spot, but keep them out of direct sunlight to help the blooms last longer. For even longer-lasting blooms, provide cooler nighttime temperatures.

For the birds:

Continue feeding the birds this month. By now, any seeds left on plants from last year have long since been consumed, and it’s still too cold for much insect activity outdoors, so the birds have to spend more time and energy searching for food sources.
Clean out nest boxes or put up new ones — or both. Many birds will begin to scout out nesting sites this month, so cleaning out existing houses or putting up new ones now will encourage them to take up residence at your home. They’ll repay you for the hospitality by feeding their young with insects from your yard this spring!