\n\t\t
March’s Garden Hit List
\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t
\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
SnowKnows Gardening Solutions\n\t\t\t\n\t\tPut down crabgrass pre-emergent as soon as the forsythias come into bloom. This is the best time of the year to control crabgrass.
Begin spraying your fruit trees as soon as the flower petals drop. Use a good combination fruit tree spray to cover all of the bases. Be sure to follow the label directions.
Treat your lawn now for the cool-weather weeds that have developed since last fall. Spray with Broadleaf DSO to eliminate henbit, chickweed, and other broadleaf weeds before they set seed. Treat next October-November to catch the young seedlings before they can grow and become unsightly.
March is the time to start your early vegetable plants like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, collards, and lettuce. Peas, potatoes, and other cold-tolerant vegetables can be started outside after the middle of the month.
Prune your roses just before the new growth begins to expand. Remove any weak or diseased canes to the ground. Cut the remaining 5-7 canes to about 12-18 inches tall.
Apply Easy Weeder to your flower and shrub beds now to prevent weeds this spring. Start with a clean bed and you'll be amazed at how few weeds you'll have! Be sure to cover the Easy Weeder or water it in well right after application as outlined on the label.
Don't get caught by the itch to start planting annuals too early! Remember, trees, shrubs, and perennials can go in any time. Tender annuals like impatiens, petunias, marigolds, tomatoes, and so forth can't make it outside before the end of April at the earliest.
Gardening FAQ’s
Now is the perfect time of year to do drastic pruning on a lot of your evergreen plants. Many broadleaf evergreens can be cut back hard now to control size and shape. Needled evergreens are a different matter. Most of these cannot be pruned back hard, ever, without seriously damaging the plant. Be sure you know your plants before attempting any severe pruning. If you do it to the wrong plant, you’ll have to replace the plant.
Q: I have some Japanese hollies that have grown too tall for where they are planted. Can I prune those back without hurting them? They are currently about 6 feet tall and I want to remove about 3 feet of growth.
A: This is the time of year to do this type of pruning. The plants will be breaking dormancy very soon. As they start their spring growth cycle, they will be able to start covering over the pruning cuts quickly. Try to leave as much green growth on the sides of the plant as your can. This will help the plant produce food wile recovering from the pruning you’ve done.
Q: Can I trim back my pines to reduce their size? My neighbor is complaining that they are growing too tall and blocking the sun in his yard. I want to take the top out of them to keep them short. Will this be okay for them? When is the best time?
A: The best time to do this is never! Pines and other needled evergreens have no buds along the stems to produce new growth. Drastic pruning that removes the growth down into the interior of the plant eliminates all of the growing points in that area of the plant and the plant will never recover. When pruning needled evergreens, such as pines, junipers, arborvitaes, spruces, cypress, and so forth, be sure that you leave plenty of green growth so the plant will have growing points from which to re-grow. If you are in doubt as to how to prune these types of plants, consult with a nursery professional to be sure you’re doing the right thing.
Upcoming Gardening Events
April 19-27
Historic Garden Week
Join The Garden Club of Virginia in celebrating 400 years of gardening in Virginia. See historic properties throughout the state, as well as here in our area. This year’s local featured area is Greenwood. Visit www.VAGardenweek.org for details!
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n
\\n\\t\\t
March’s Garden Hit List
\\n\\t\\t\\t\\n\\n\\t\\t
\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\n\\t\\t\\t\\n\\t\\t
\\t\\t\\t\\t\\n\\t\\t\\t\\n\\t\\t\\t
SnowKnows Gardening Solutions\\n\\t\\t\\t\\n\\t\\tPut down crabgrass pre-emergent as soon as the forsythias come into bloom. This is the best time of the year to control crabgrass.
Begin spraying your fruit trees as soon as the flower petals drop. Use a good combination fruit tree spray to cover all of the bases. Be sure to follow the label directions.
Treat your lawn now for the cool-weather weeds that have developed since last fall. Spray with Broadleaf DSO to eliminate henbit, chickweed, and other broadleaf weeds before they set seed. Treat next October-November to catch the young seedlings before they can grow and become unsightly.
March is the time to start your early vegetable plants like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, collards, and lettuce. Peas, potatoes, and other cold-tolerant vegetables can be started outside after the middle of the month.
Prune your roses just before the new growth begins to expand. Remove any weak or diseased canes to the ground. Cut the remaining 5-7 canes to about 12-18 inches tall.
Apply Easy Weeder to your flower and shrub beds now to prevent weeds this spring. Start with a clean bed and you\'ll be amazed at how few weeds you\'ll have! Be sure to cover the Easy Weeder or water it in well right after application as outlined on the label.
Don\'t get caught by the itch to start planting annuals too early! Remember, trees, shrubs, and perennials can go in any time. Tender annuals like impatiens, petunias, marigolds, tomatoes, and so forth can\'t make it outside before the end of April at the earliest.
Gardening FAQ’s
Now is the perfect time of year to do drastic pruning on a lot of your evergreen plants. Many broadleaf evergreens can be cut back hard now to control size and shape. Needled evergreens are a different matter. Most of these cannot be pruned back hard, ever, without seriously damaging the plant. Be sure you know your plants before attempting any severe pruning. If you do it to the wrong plant, you’ll have to replace the plant.
Q: I have some Japanese hollies that have grown too tall for where they are planted. Can I prune those back without hurting them? They are currently about 6 feet tall and I want to remove about 3 feet of growth.
A: This is the time of year to do this type of pruning. The plants will be breaking dormancy very soon. As they start their spring growth cycle, they will be able to start covering over the pruning cuts quickly. Try to leave as much green growth on the sides of the plant as your can. This will help the plant produce food wile recovering from the pruning you’ve done.
Q: Can I trim back my pines to reduce their size? My neighbor is complaining that they are growing too tall and blocking the sun in his yard. I want to take the top out of them to keep them short. Will this be okay for them? When is the best time?
A: The best time to do this is never! Pines and other needled evergreens have no buds along the stems to produce new growth. Drastic pruning that removes the growth down into the interior of the plant eliminates all of the growing points in that area of the plant and the plant will never recover. When pruning needled evergreens, such as pines, junipers, arborvitaes, spruces, cypress, and so forth, be sure that you leave plenty of green growth so the plant will have growing points from which to re-grow. If you are in doubt as to how to prune these types of plants, consult with a nursery professional to be sure you’re doing the right thing.
Upcoming Gardening Events
April 19-27
Historic Garden Week
Join The Garden Club of Virginia in celebrating 400 years of gardening in Virginia. See historic properties throughout the state, as well as here in our area. This year’s local featured area is Greenwood. Visit www.VAGardenweek.org for details!
\\n\\t\\t\\t\\n\\t\\t
\\n\\t\\t\\t\\n