WDUN News/Talk 550 - North Georgia's Talk Station

Hall County Extension Director Billy Skaggs and Kellie Bowen, owner of Full Bloom Nursery take your phone calls to help keep your lawn and garden beautiful and healthy. Think of them as your personal gardeners.

Call Billy and Kellie at
770-535-2911, or
toll free at 1-800-552-WDUN

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MARCH GARDENING TIPS

Pinch out any cold damaged leaves on roses and give them a final pruning if it has not been done yet.

Apply fertilizer to ornamentals now. Remember that large mature shrubs may not need any supplemental nutrition on a continuing basis.

Finish any last minute pruning on ornamentals that are not now blooming or about to bloom.

There is still time to make a late treatment of pre-emergent herbicide to keep annual grasses out of our lawns and landscapes.

After clumping perennials like daylilies and hostas begin to emerge is the right time to dig and divide if they have gotten too big or need a location change.

Trim Liriope back to within a few inches of the ground to give the new foliage room to grow.

Pull back mulch a little from emerging perennials to encourage new growth and to help warm the soil. Maintain 2-3” of mulch in beds to keep soil moist and cool.

It is still too early to move indoor plants outside yet. Wait for evening temperatures to remain above 50ºF.

Don't make the mistake of planting your vegetables too early. Cool soil temperatures will cut back germination severely and cause transplants to stunt. Start summer vegetable seeds indoors now and transplant them to the garden in late April.

Hang hummingbird feeders out by mid-March. The male Ruby Throat usually shows up by mid to late March and the females follow a few weeks later. When the hummers fly back here, they’re very hungry after their long journey.

Clean out any birdhouses that your feathered friends used last season.

Tidy up yard debris and trim back any tattered or dead foliage on perennials. It’s great material for the compost pile.