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North Mississippi Gardening Tips
March, 2002

Notes for March

Spring is on it's way as evident in the swelling buds of fruit trees, waves of buttercups and other spring bulbs, and in the cheery blossoms of Bradford pears, deciduous magnolias, forsythias and other spring flowering shrubs and trees. We've spent the winter pouring over those seed and plant catalogs. Now's the time to begin to put all those grand plans into action! Be aware that the median date for the last freeze in north Mississippi is April 1-10, so limit your planting to hardy and half-hardy plant types, which will survive cold temperatures. Wait until mid April before planting frost tender plant material. Nothing is more disheartening than seeing all your nice plants turned to mush by a cold snap.

Annual Flowers and Vines

According to one of my almanacs, rainfall for this month in Mississippi will be three inches above normal. If that holds to be true, it will be difficult to prepare the ground to install that new flowerbed you have been wanting. In case the ground does dry out enough to work with a tiller, this is the procedure to follow to ensure success for that new bed of annual flowers. Preparing the soil correctly is the key to success. 1. Remove all existing weeds and grass. You can do this by application of an herbicide or the old-fashioned way with a shovel or hoe. 2. Till the bed area thoroughly as deep as the tines on the tiller will allow. 3. Now is the time to add organic matter in the form of sphagnum peat moss, rotted sawdust, compost or other organic material. A good general recommendation is to cover the bed area with a 3-4 inch layer of the organic matter. Till into the existing soil thoroughly. 4. If you have the time to wait for a soil analysis, now is the time to submit it. Soil sampling of any new bed area is highly recommended because it eliminates any guesswork when it comes to fertilizer or liming recommendations. 5. After receiving the soil analysis results, it's time to amend the soil based on the analysis recommendations. 6. Now you are ready to plant! 7. Don't forget to mulch to control weeds, conserve moisture and make your new flowerbed neat and attractive.

Bulbs

You can get a jump on the season by potting your elephant ear and caladium bulbs now. To increase the number of leaf stalks emerging from the caladium bulb, remove the prominent center bud from the bulb by cutting it out with a sharp knife. You will be rewarded with more stalks for a fuller look. After potting the bulbs, keep them in a sunny, warm place indoors until the freezing weather has passed.

Container Gardens

If you hauled all your tender, outdoor, pot plants indoors for the winter, now is a good time to start, pruning, repotting and fertilizing these plants to bring them out of the winter uglies. How to tell when it's time to repot? A good clue is visible roots at the top of the pot or roots protruding from the drain hole. If you're unsure, pop the root ball out of the pot and examine. If you see any roots winding around the root ball it is time to repot. When repotting use a pot at least twice the diameter of the old one.

Tropical plants like allamanda, ixora, hibiscus, mandevilla and others should be cut back and fertilized now so they will be growing well by mid-April when it is safe to move them outdoors.

Fruit

The best time to fertilize fruit trees is to coincide the application with bud swell. How do you do that? Well, keep a sharp eye on the buds and when the brown shell of the developing bud cracks to reveal green tissue, it's time. This typically occurs in north Mississippi around mid to late March. It is always best to base fertilizer rates of application on a soil test. However, the following general recommendations can be used. For peaches, apples, nectarines and plums use one-half to one pound of 15-15-15 per year of age of the tree. Do not exceed a maximum of 15 pounds per tree for apples and five pounds per tree for peaches, nectarines and plums. If you do not know the age of the trees, apply two pounds of 15-15-15 per inch in diameter of the tree measured just above the soil line. This translates into about a pound for newly planted trees.

Groundcovers and Lawns

Hardy groundcovers like English Ivy, vinca, liriope, mondo grass and prostrate junipers can be planted this month. Plant only well-rooted plants not runners. Do not apply post emergence herbicides to warm-season lawn grasses during the spring transition from dormancy to active growth. Applications of these type herbicides can damage or hinder turf grass in the early stage of active growth. Depending on the weather spring transition can begin in late March and continue into early May in north Mississippi.

Perennial Flowers and Vines

Emerging and newly planted perennials and biennials can be fertilized now with 15-15-15. Every 6 to 8 weeks thereafter during the growing season a 5-10-15 formulation can be used, which is a good fruit and flower fertilizer. A general recommendation for one hundred square feet of bed area is 1 to 2 pounds of fertilizer broadcast and then lightly worked into the soil around perennials and biennials.

If the foliar disease called botrytis plagues your peony, begin spraying as soon as the foliage begins to emerge with a recommended fungicide such as captan. Follow label recommendations for rate and frequency of application.

Trees and Shrubs

Heavy structural pruning of evergreen shrubs may be done this month. Try not to remove all the leaf area on broadleaf evergreens like burford holly, cleyera and boxwood. Always prune so the top is narrower than the bottom to allow light to reach the lower branches and to keep the plants from being top heavy and unsightly. Wait until after flowering to prune azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, forsythias, spireas and other spring-blooming shrubs.

Prune only dead, broken, or wayward limbs on shade and flowering trees. Mulch newly planted or established trees and shrubs with pine straw or shredded bark. Do not allow the mulch to pack against the trunk. Pine straw packed against a tree trunk also provides the perfect haven for the vole (a stubby tailed mouse) to chew away on the bark. If you notice this type of chewing damage around the base of your trees or shrubs, set a trap or get a really vicious cat!

Vegetables and Herbs

Transplants of cabbage, broccoli, collards, lettuce, cauliflower and Swiss chard can be set out this month. Seeds of carrots, beets, loose-leaf lettuce, mustard, English peas, radish and turnips can be sowed this month. Remember not to try to work wet ground or you will wind up with a bed of "knots" as my son used to call dirt clods (wet soil when tilled tends to clump together into clods that are nearly impossible to break apart no matter how much you till the soil later in the season when it is drier). Better to wait until the soil is sufficiently dry.

Hardy transplants of herbs like lemon balm, mint, lavender, oregano, sage and others can be transplanted into the garden later this month. Early this month is when to seed those tomatoes indoors to have transplants ready for setting out in the garden in mid-April after the danger of frost has passed. Plant roots of perennial vegetables like asparagus, Jerusalem artichoke and horseradish early this month when the ground is still cold. Add plenty of compost to backfill soil and fertilize with a slow-release granular fertilizer. Apply mulch lightly so as not to hinder the warming of the soil by the increased sunlight of early spring.

Lelia Scott Kelly, Ph.D., writes North Mississippi Gardening Tips monthly and is a Horticulture Specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Her office is in the North Mississippi Research & Extension Center, Verona.