The Garden Gate

Garden tips for every month of the year!

March

Now that the days are growing longer again, buds have started to swell and many plants will begin to flower. It is "spring awakening" in Wakulla County - certainly a pretty time of year. It is a time when those who like gardening spend as much time as they can in the yard, and there is much to do.

Flowering annuals add color to the landscape and there are many which can be planted in March as the danger of hard freezes rapidly diminishes. Among them would be - those that are cold hardy but could still be planted Baby's Breath, Dianthus, Pansy, Petunia, Snapdragon, and Statice - and then those more tender which should be planted in March include Ageratum, Alyssum, Amaranthus, Balsam, Begonia, Browallia, Calendula, Celosia, Calliopsis, Cosmos, Dahlia, Dusty Miller, Exacum, Gaillardia, Gazania, Geranium, Hollyhock, Impatiens, Lobelia, Marguerite Daisy, Marigold, Nicotiana, Ornamental Pepper, Pentas, Periwinkle, Phlox, Rudbeckia, Salvia, Strawflower, Streptocarpus, Sweet William, Thunbergia, Torenia, Verbena and Zinnia.

To be successful with flowering plants, they should probably be planted and cared for just about as you would a vegetable for they too are a short term "crop." As with vegetables, plant them in full sun (unless they would prefer some shade - such is the case with Calendula, some types of Begonia, Impatiens, and Periwinkles), and grow them in a raised bed. At time of planting (according to a University of Florida fact sheet on annuals) fertilize that bed at the rate of 2 lbs/100 sq. ft. of surface or if a 12-4-12 is used (low phosphorus - middle number) apply it at the rate of 1 lb/100 sq. ft. of bed. As with vegetables, don't keep planting the same type flowering plant in the same spot year after year. Rotate between different types - this will reduce the buildup of diseases specific to one group of flowers.

If you would like to access more information on growing flowers you can go to a UF fact sheet entitled, "Annual Flowers for Florida" (temporarily unavailable).

There is another UF fact sheet on line that you might find useful entitled, "Perennial Gardening in Florida".

The advantage to planting flowering perennials is that if they are cold hardy, they should come back year after year to enhance the color in any spot they are placed. All can be planted after the chance of cold is gone - the cold hardy ones now. Among some to consider are the African Iris, Blackberry Lily, Blue Daze, Blue Sage, Butterfly Bush, Butterfly Weed, Cardinal's Guard, Chrysanthemum, Cigar Flower, Coneflower, Coreopsis, Daisy Bush, Dayflower, Firespike, Mexican Daisy, Blanket Flower, Gaura, Gold Shrimp Plant, Goldenrod, Hosta, Lion's Ear, Mexican Hat plant, Cuphea, Philippine violet, Blue Phlox, Pincushion Flower, Plumbago, Ruellia, Russian Sage, Shrimp plant, Swamp Sunflower, and Yarrow.

Bulbs, Tubers, Rhizomes, and Corms, can be planted now and will also add color to one's landscape through the spring and summer months. Nicer is the fact that these are mostly perennial (grow year after year without having to replant) which means less work. Among some to consider planting for March would be the Achimines, Allium, Alstroemeria, Amazon lily, Aztec lily, Blood lily, Caladium, Canna, Crinum, Gloriosa lily, Kaffir lily, Voodoo lily, and Zephyr lily.

Nowhere does the gardener gamble more than deciding, "when's the best time to plant a vegetable garden?" On one hand, we try to have the vegetables in at the earliest possible time to beat the onslaught of summer pests. On the other hand, we don't want to plant too early and run the risk of losing the garden to a late spring frost. On or around the 15th of March is considered the target date for having our vegetables in place. These include beans, cantaloupe, corn, cucumbers, peppers, squash, tomatoes, and watermelon. April 1st or later is used for okra, eggplant, and peppers.

Getting a vegetable garden off to a good start by fertilizing the plants from the beginning is wise. Current recommendations are to broadcast 1-2 lbs of 15-0-15 fertilizer per 100 square feet over the entire garden plot one to two weeks before planting (if a soil test indicates phosphorus is needed, apply 2-4 lbs. of 10-10-10 fertilizer). At planting time, band 15-0-15 fertilizer in one or two bands each two to three inches below the seed level or plant row. Use the rate of two oz. per 10 foot of row (four oz. if you use 10-10-10 fertilizer).

One way to gain some time on early harvest is to plant vegetables as partially grown plants from containers (rather than as seed put in the soil. This can gain you as much as 30-60 days earlier harvest and the earlier you can harvest, the more vegetables you will manage to get before summer vegetable pests come in to take their toll.

Note that some vegetables differ in the success with which they transplant. Dr. James Motes of Oklahoma State University Extension explains that the rate of top growth compared to root growth after transplanting has a lot to do with how difficult it is to transplant certain vegetables. This is because, the act of transplanting (even from pots) damages many tiny hair roots needed to take up water. Easy-to-transplant vegetables essentially stop top growth for several days after transplant to allow new roots to produce rapidly to take up water and nutrients for plant growth - examples of vegetables that have rapid root hair regrowth include Beets, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chard, Lettuce, Tomatoes, and Sweet Potatoes. Celery, Eggplant, Onion, and Pepper have a moderate hair root replacement following transplanting and therefore are moderately easy to transplant.

Difficult-to transplant vegetables have a slow rate of root replacement and attempt to continue top growth, even though roots have been damaged and the remaining roots cannot sustain the top for water and nutrients - examples of these are Sweet Corn, Cucumber, Muskmelon (to include Cantaloupe) Beans, Summer squash, and Watermelon.

These vegetables also have a second trait that hinders their ability to transplant easily - their rate of root suberization. Deposition of suberin or cutin in roots hinders water uptake. Difficult-to-transplant vegetables deposit suberin or cutin in roots at an earlier age than easy-to-transplant vegetables. Because of these traits, it is often quicker to plant these vegetables from seed in the ground after March 1st.

When transplanting a vegetable, the greater proportion of roots retained, the better the survival rate. Therefore, transplants growing in containers perform better than bare rooted transplants. Other practices that improve transplant survival are to:

• Water immediately after transplanting.
• Plant young, vigorous transplants.

March is the month we can begin pruning those plants that were not hurt by the winter to shape them. The exception would be plants such as Azaleas, and Hydrangeas whose blooms would be delayed or altogether eliminated by pruning now. As a general rule, pruning plants right after their normal flowering period is the best course for a gardener to take. It is least disruptive to them.

Note: Plants that were frozen back this winter (Turks Cap, Firespike, Clerodendrum, Poinsettia, Phillippine violet, Pentas, Lantana, Heather, etc.), should not be pruned at this time.

It is best to see first where their new growth comes out. Trying to minimize wood removal is always wise so simply wait and see. Pruning now might mean cutting into wood that would in fact flush out, if just given a little additional time. You would then be doing more damage to the plant than the entire winter had.

This month many people also prune back their Crape Myrtles. One of our goals is to get gardeners to stop "butchering" these small trees at this time of year, thinking they are doing the proper thing. Crape Myrtles are best grown as small trees and do best if trained to three to four main trunks and then left to form their foliage out toward the ends of these trunks. Cutting them back each year to some point about head high, causes them to dwarf. It also stimulates a proliferation of weak twigs right at each cut. Doing this will give you large flowers close to this artificial crown, but it reduces the plant's flowering potential and perhaps shortens the life of the plant.

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