SOME gardening experts claim it's too early to get out in the garden and start working.
I must disagree. It's not too early, especially here on the warm coast. Now is exactly the time to get into the garden to take care of a number of March gardening tasks before the full flush of spring is upon us. So here's a list of end-of-March, early-April gardening tasks to accomplish before the spring flush.
Gardening tasks to do now:
? Cut back any remaining perennial stalks and seed heads.
Cutting back should have been done in fall, but many perennials should have their winter interest stems left on. Cutting perennials now prevents interference with newly developing growth. You can cut down perennial stalks with hand pruners, garden shears or a weed eater, just be careful not to cut too low to avoid damaging new shots.
Go in after you're done and cut by hand to remove anything you missed. For most people, the removal of all the cut-down perennial stalks is an absolute must for presentation reasons.
But if you have permaculturist leanings, then consider leaving all of those stalks chopped up and in place on the ground to act as mulch and cover for beneficial insects like ground beetles that eat slugs.
? Prune sub-shrubs and other tender plants.
A sub-shrub is a small growing shrub that produces small woody stems but never develops into a full woody plant. Sub-shrubs are prone to winter damage, so pruning them back is best left until after all hard frost is gone.
Examples of these plants include rosemary, sage, Russian sage, wormwood, lavender, rock roses (Cistus and Cytisus species) and several other plants. The purpose of pruning these plants back is to prevent the degradation of the stems, which happens when the plant is not pruned back annually, especially on rosemary. To do this pruning, cut back all stems down low to the point on the stem where new growth buds are starting to swell and grow.
Try to avoid cutting high; lower is generally better with sub-shrubs. But always cut where the new growth is showing to assure successful regrowth.
Some of these sub-shrubs do not regrow if cut back to nonbudding stems or into very old wood. Now is also the time to prune hydrangeas.
? Apply mulch before growth starts.
If you have not mulched your garden beds already, then now is the time to mulch before new growth begins and working in the beds becomes damaging. I won't go on about mulch and its highly valuable attributes, because some readers claim I flog that horse too much. I'll just say that if you don't mulch you are devaluing your property's appearance, adding work to your summer in the form of weeding, and slowly denuding your soil's fertility.
? Transplant plants now that you have been waiting to move.
Many people seem to prefer a spring transplant. Personally, I prefer to transplant from October to February. But for most plants here on the warm coast, now is a good time to transplant before growth starts and damaging the plant is more likely. Almost any tree, shrub, vine or perennial can be transplanted now before growth begins. There is little concern about damaging wet soil during transplanting as long as you apply a few precautions.
Use plywood to walk on. Stop moving around in the bed like a jitter bug - stand still and dig. Use the same path in and the same path out to minimize damage and cultivate affected soil after the transplanting is complete, and cover with mulch.
Gardening tasks not to do now:
? Do not spray pesticides, fungicides or herbicides.
Aside from the fact that pesticides are poisonous and mostly useless in residential gardens, we still have much rain to go through and rain will wash away most of those chemicals before they can do any good. And early spring pesticide applications are very harmful to beneficial insects that emerge before most pest insects do. So save your money and the environment.
? Do not prune now any tree with sap flowing.
This would include all maples, birch, some dogwoods and many other deciduous hardwood trees. It is important to understand that sap bleeding from a tree is damaging and it attracts pests and disease. So wait until summer to prune such trees. It may not be too late to prune some fruit trees depending on where you live.
Coniferous trees like pine, fir, cedar, spruce and hemlock can be pruned now as long as their sap flow is not running heavy.
Other tasks not to do now include: fertilizing any plant or lawn, it's simply too early; planting out tender plants, wait until April; and do not stay inside - the winter has been long enough.
Todd Major is a journeyman horticulturist, garden designer, writer, consultant and organic advocate. For advice contact him at [email protected].
