GARDENING NOTES FOR MARCH

Flowers :

This is without doubt the best time to prune your Roses, the heaviest of the frosts

should now be a thing of the past and consequently dieback of the pruned shoots will be

reduced to a minimum. Hybrid Tea Roses should be pruned the hardest, cutting back each

shoot to around 6 inches from the base. Floribunda or Cluster Roses should be pruned to

around 12 inches from their base. This type of pruning can only be successfully done on

roses which have either been newly planted or those which have been regularly pruned

correctly every year. Any that have been neglected can only be pruned back to 2 or 3 buds on

the wood produced last season. Cutting back on older wood should only be done one at a

time over several years as they may well not produce new growth. After pruning feed the

Roses with a balanced general fertilizer and then mulch around the bushes with compost or

manure – this will help to reduce the attack of Black Spot Disease. The spores of this fungus

are now dormant on the surface of the soil and are spread to the new emerging young growth

by being splashed up on to it by heavy rain. Climbers and Rambler Roses should be pruned

by cutting away all of the older wood and tying in the new growth produced last season.

Shrub Roses can be pruned into shape with a pair of shears or hedgecutters – this may sound

drastic but really works well.

Remove the dead heads from Daffodils as they fade and then feed with a high potash feed.

After the flowers have finished is when the bulb needs this feeding to build up the bulb for

next year’s display. The bulb is capable of this task for only 6 weeks after flowering.

Divide summer flowering herbaceous perennials now or as soon as growth commences.

When dividing large clumps such as Michaelmas Daisies, Helenium or Astilbe, etc keep only

the parts nearest the edges of the clump not from the centre.

If you have a greenhouse or some form of protection, Dahlias can be started off now by

putting the tuber in the smallest pot it will comfortably go in, just covering with soil and

water in. Keep only just moist and most importantly frost free. If you intend to plant directly

outside, leave for another month.

Shrubs Cut down the stems of Cornus or Salix which have been grown for their coloured

winter stems to induce new growth from the base which will give you the best display next

winter. Remove the old stems from Grasses now to allow the new growth to take its place

unhindered.

Any shrub growing in a large pot should be top-dressed now with fresh compost. JI No.3

would be the best for this purpose. With a trowel remove the top 2 inches or so of old soil

and replace with the new. Be careful not to damage the stem when doing this but don’t worry

about the surface roots which will inevitable be cut as this will not affect the plant in any

way.

Vegetables:

 Plant out Onion sets and Shallots now, leaving just the tip showing above soil

level. Many kinds of vegetables can be sown now especially if you have the protection of a

cold greenhouse or cloches. Peas, Lettuce, Carrots, Parsnips and Herbs are among the best

for early sowing. Take care to protect emerging seedlings from slugs and snails as they

emerge from their period of winter dormancy.