March Gardening Jobs List
Gardening experts recommend six key jobs for March: sowing new seeds, mowing lawns as growth resumes, pruning shrubs, tidying borders, checking soil health, and planning summer displays. Early action now can set the foundation for a vibrant spring and summer garden. British gardening legend Monty Don suggests now is ideal to tidy up garden borders and refresh mulch to encourage new shoots.
March is a critical transition month for lawns; the first cut should be higher, around 1.5 to 2 inches, to avoid stressing the grass as it emerges from dormancy. For subsequent mows, a height of 2.5 to 3 inches is ideal for most grass types, promoting a deep, healthy root system and good color. A common guideline is the "one-third rule," which advises never removing more than one-third of the grass blade's height in a single mowing to prevent weakening the turf. Pruning in March depends heavily on the type of shrub. Summer-flowering deciduous shrubs like certain hydrangeas (panicle and smooth varieties), hardy fuchsias, and butterfly bushes (Buddleja) should be pruned now before new growth begins. However, spring-flowering shrubs that bloom on old wood, such as forsythia, lilac, and rhododendron, should not be pruned until after they have finished flowering, or you risk removing this season's buds. For vegetable gardens, March is the time to sow cool-season crops directly into the ground. This includes root vegetables like carrots and beets, as well as leafy greens like spinach and sorrel. Other vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, and broccoli, are best started indoors to get a head start before the last frost. To prepare for summer blooms, now is the time to plant summer-flowering bulbs and tubers. Popular choices to plant in the spring for a succession of color include dahlias, gladioli, calla lilies, and begonias. Many types of lilies, such as the fragrant Oriental and colorful Asiatic varieties, can also be planted now for a vibrant summer display. Assessing soil health is a key March task that can be done simply at home. A basic "squeeze test" on a handful of moist soil can indicate its composition: clay soil will feel smooth and sticky, sandy soil will be gritty and crumble easily, while loamy soil—the ideal for most plants—will hold together but crumble with light pressure. Another indicator of healthy soil is a thriving earthworm population; finding at least 10 worms in a cubic foot of soil is a good sign.
