You may think that the time you spend “working” and performing the tasks in these monthly articles, is only for the benefit of your plants. Certainly they are happy to have your attention, but such an arrangement would be very one sided. The fact is that all your plant people, and animal people, and bird people, and insect people… all the members of your garden community are constantly giving back. March happens to be one of the key months when their reciprocal bounty comes into plain view.
In March you see the first fruits of all your fall season pruning, winter contouring of the ground, and your continual attention to soil moisture, weeds, and topdress. Your ceanothus should be in bud and your manzanitas may still have a few flowers. New growth on buckwheat, salvia, sagebrush, sunflower, and deerweed, prove that spring is close at hand. Wildflowers are up and growing, with bloom soon to follow.
At this writing, we have less than 3.5” precipitation in the gauge for the season. That is pitiful – and unless we get some rain in the next three months, we will be back in official drought mode this summer. Native plants can handle this news, thriving in both good and bad rain years, but there is no substitute for seasonal rain… perfect, pure water at the exact time the natives need it. Our natural gardens will use the same amount of supplemental water this summer with or without good winter rains, but our plants will be much healthier if they get at least the normal amount of cool-season rain.
Watering
February was unseasonably warm and quite dry. I hope you heeded the instructions in our February article and applied water in lieu of rains. March may be the same.
Related to Watering
If March is dry like February was, follow the instructions in our Watering Guide as if you were watering dry soil. Apply the equivalent of 1.5-2” of rainfall. If March produces better rain than February, do not water. Rain is far superior to irrigation.
Pruning
If you head back spring-flowering natives now, you will lose the flowers. We discussed pruning and pruning technique in our fall and winter articles. Since January and February were warm and dry, you might find new growth on branch tips that appears to be too “soft,” a bit too lush, not as sturdy as you would like. Perhaps the plant thought spring had sprung early. You can trim these branch tips and encourage stronger branching and a more compact look in the plant.
If your plants were damaged in the frost/freeze events we had in late February, don’t trim the damaged leaves and stems just yet. Though unsightly, you should leave them on for a few more days until they are completely dry and the plant has isolated them, establishing a limit where live wood meets dead wood. Some dead leaves may just fall off. Since more frost is possible, if you trim off the dead, try not to cut into live wood. Leave a little stub of dead wood. (Note: this is for frost damaged branches. In summer, we will discuss pruning diseased branches, in which case, you would trim into live wood, leaving no dead or damaged wood on the plant.)
Weeding
We always watch for weeds and we work constantly to eliminate them. The best weed control is competition, so while you are cutting and removing weeds, don’t forget that a full garden, healthy natural topdress, shade under the plants, and minimal soil disturbance will eventually provide an environment where weeds will be scarce.
Mulching/Top dress
Replenishing mulch or top dress is not necessary at this time, unless you are concerned that areas with bare soil may be subject to surface erosion during rain events. Since (at least theoretically) we are still in our rainy season, you should still be contouring, channeling runoff and doing everything possible to get rainfall to penetrate and soak in. The time for mulching will be early summer, to lock in the cool season moisture.
Feeding
If you can perfectly time an application of organic all-purpose plant food (dry or granular), right before a good rain, your plants will reward you with unbelievable spring beauty! For quicker results, you can use commercial fertilizers (chemical based), dry/granular or water soluble. For both products, follow instructions on the label regarding application rates and other details. Many people prefer organics as they tend to help build good soil ecosystems as well as provide plant food, while chemical fertilizers mainly just feed the plants.
Troubleshooting – Varmints, Pests and Diseases
As the days start getting longer (after the equinox, March 21), certain injurious plant pests may have a population boom. Keep an eye out for aphid, scale, and mealybug, especially if it gets warm. Watch for beneficials that feed on the bad guys, birds, lacewing, ladybug larvae, mantis, and strive to create a healthy, balanced ecosystem so the pests will never get out of control. Eliminate Argentine ants, which always work against you and in favor of plant pest insects.
Annual Wildflowers
If you sowed seed in fall and winter, they should be growing now. If you did not sow seed yet, this is your last call. March is the eleventh hour for sowing native wildflower seed. April will be too late.
Adding New Plants
All plants can be handled safely and effectively this month. Do not hesitate to add new plants. Follow the planting instructions in this video, Plant It Right.
Engage
Every morning in March, you, dear garden lover, should spring out of bed shouting, “Yes! It’s March!” You can go into the hills, mountains and deserts and be part of nature’s celebration, because all the plants and critters out there are waking up every morning (except the bats and moths and owls who keep a different schedule) saying, “Yes! It’s March!”
Great month for visiting great gardens, native or otherwise. Great month for visiting Tree of Life and taking in our workshops on Saturday mornings. Great month for reading inspirational nature and the words written about her in books. Great month for doing all the good things you can do in your garden. This I will guarantee, your garden will give you back more than you could ever put into it.
From the Garden,
Mike Evans
Questions? Help is just one call or one email away. Call (949) 728-0695 or email (with pictures if you like) our brand new help email: gardenhelp@californianativeplants.com.