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Ask the Gardener: Restless? What you can and can’t do in March.
It’s a “hurry up and wait” month.
Gardening is all about doing the right thing at the right time. However, climate change’s erratic weather keeps throwing that timing off, whether you are a migrating bird looking for newly hatched insects or a gardener calculating when to plant your seeds. So be conservative: Even if it’s 60 degrees and the sky is blue, wait until April to start planting so a sudden cold night doesn’t destroy your efforts.
March is a “hurry up and wait” month in the garden, when you don’t want to do too much too early. Try not to walk on your lawn; you could leave permanent footprints in ground that is saturated on top and frozen underneath. The soil has dried out enough for cultivating when you can squeeze a fistful and it crumbles in your palm like chocolate cake instead of remaining a tight mudball.
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One way to beat cabin fever is to visit local flower exhibits. There are two local orchid shows in glorious indoor venues worth visiting. The New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston has its elegant annual orchid show through March 17. It’s open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Franklin Park Zoo’s first orchid show is inside the Tropical Forest building (home of the western lowland gorillas and pygmy hippos) through March 10. The combination of lush flowers and animal habitats makes it perfect for family outings. It’s open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Many of the show’s hundreds of orchids will go on sale March 23 on site from 9 a.m. to noon). Both orchid shows are included in the price of admission and are free to members.
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But what can you be safely doing now in your own backyard? Plan your vegetable and ornamental gardens. If you shop later without a plan, you’ll be wandering the garden with new plants in your arms, just looking for a place to stick them.
More on Gardening & Plants
Most winter-hardy trees, shrubs, and perennial flowers can be safely planted in April. Most annual flowers and vegetables cannot, but their seeds can be started indoors this month if you have a setup with grow lights. Read seed packets to find out how many days they need to grow before being transplanted outdoors. Count backward from the average date of the last frost in your town. This can vary from April 10 in Boston to May 10 in Springfield. If you are farther north or inland, frosts will continue later.
The most cold-hardy vegetables you can try planting directly outdoors late this month include mustard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, radishes, peas, and mesclun mixes. Flowers for outdoors in warmer areas include pansies, calendulas, sweet alyssum, and larkspur.
Use warm days to straighten out your toolshed. Get your cutting tools sharpened and start pruning anytime. Cut branches that are too crowded, too long, or rub against other branches. Cut above the location where one branch joins another, and leave a half-inch stub to heal the wound over instead of painting the cut. Put some pruned branches in buckets of lukewarm water indoors after recutting the ends. In a couple of weeks, they may produce decorative flowers or leaves, especially if they are naturally early bloomers such as forsythia, witch hazel, Japanese flowering quince, willows, and fruit trees. Wait to prune roses after they start to leaf out in April so you can spot dead branches.
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This is actually one of my favorite times of year, because every day brings more light, more warmth, and more small but dynamic changes like sprouting tree leaves and crocuses. Put up your nesting boxes. Check with Mass Audubon for the entry-hole dimensions for your favorite birds. I also turn off my outdoor lighting so owls can hunt for mice to feed their nestlings.
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