March in Your Garden: A Flourish of Activity at Grow Folk

March is a transitional month, a bridge between summer’s warmth and winter’s crisp coolness. It’s a time of reflection, preparation, and exciting new beginnings in the garden. As the days shorten, we focus on nurturing our gardens for a spectacular winter and spring display. With a little effort now, you can create a thriving haven that will bring joy throughout the cooler months, leaving you time to relax and enjoy the fruits (and flowers!) of your labour. 

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Rose Care: Autumn’s Last Hurrah and Winter Prep

March often gifts us with the most exquisite roses of the year. The cooler temperatures enhance their colour and prolong their beauty, sometimes lasting well into April and May. These late blooms are a testament to the rose’s resilience and a reward for diligent care.

• Feeding and Watering: As roses prepare for dormancy, they convert sugars to starches for spring growth. Regular feeding, especially in summer rainfall regions, is crucial. However, in very cold areas, cease feeding by mid-March to allow plants to harden off against frost. Reduce watering as temperatures drop, but maintain good soil moisture.

• Disease Control: Keep a vigilant eye out for fungal diseases like black spots and powdery mildew, especially in humid regions. Red spider mites can also be a problem in hot, dry areas. Our Copper Count Organic Spray can help combat fungal infections.

• Pruning and Planting:
  Light trimming can be done in hot, humid areas, but avoid heavy pruning as autumn blooms can be the most beautiful. March is an ideal time to plant new roses, as the warm soil encourages root development. For optimal growth, ensure your roses receive at least 5-6 hours of sunlight daily and are planted in well-drained, fertile soil. We recommend our Rose Fertilizer to give your roses the best start.

• Soil Preparation: Roses thrive in light clay or loamy soil. Amend sandy soil with well-rotted manure or compost, and loosen heavy clay with basalt. Prepare planting holes generously, mixing excavated soil with rose compost, manure, and bone meal.

Preparing Beds for Winter and Spring: A Foundation for Success

Now is the time to prepare your garden beds for winter vegetables, flower seedlings, and bulbs. Dig the beds to a depth of about 30cm, incorporating ample compost. Sprinkle with a general-purpose fertilizer like 2:3:2 (one handful per square meter) and a generous amount of bone meal or hoof and horn meal.

Bulbs: A Burst of Spring Color

Winter and spring flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths, arrive in stores this month. Purchase them early and store them in a cool, dark, and dry place until planting time next month. Consider adding some stunning indigenous bulbs like Babiana, Freesia, Sparaxis, Tritonia, Ixias, Ornithogalum (Chincherinchee), and Lachenalias for a unique display. Explore our range of bulbs here.

Planting and Sowing: A Garden for All Seasons

• Subtropical and Humid Regions: Late summer, autumn, and winter are ideal for planting a flower garden. Consult your local garden centre for the best varieties for your area.

• Cold Winter Regions: Continue feeding seedlings sown earlier, such as pansies, violas, and cinerarias. Transplant them into larger containers. Sow seeds of alyssum, snapdragons, dianthus, and petunias now.

• Sweet Peas: If you haven’t sown sweet peas yet, do so now after soaking the seeds overnight. Protect seedlings from birds with netting.

• Crop Rotation: Avoid planting the same seedlings in the same beds year after year to prevent soil-borne diseases.

Vegetables: A Bounty of Winter Flavors

• Subtropical Regions: Continue sowing seeds of summer and winter vegetables.

• Cold, Frosty Regions: Sow winter vegetables this month to allow them to mature before the harshest frosts. Consider purchasing established seedlings from your garden centre if you haven’t sown slow-maturing varieties.

Shrubs and Trees: Preparing for the Cold

• Hardening Off: In cold regions, start hardening off shrubs and trees by gradually reducing watering and fertilising.

• Mulching: Protect plant roots from frost with a thick layer of mulch, such as shredded newspaper, dry leaves, and compost.

• Frost Protection: For tender trees, wrap stems with hessian or frost cover fabric.

Seed Saving: A Gift for Next Year

Collect seeds from your summer heirloom vegetables, herbs, and annuals like cosmos, marigolds, and cleome. Allow seeds to mature fully before collecting them on a dry, warm day.

Lawn Care: A Lush Winter Carpet

• Cold Regions: Feed your lawn with a high-potassium fertiliser like organic 3:1:5.

• Pest Control: Treat lawn caterpillars with Eco Insect Control and address mole crickets if they are still present.

• Harvester Termites: Maintain a healthy lawn to deter harvester termites.

• Sowing: Autumn is an excellent time to sow lawn seeds.

 

Perennials: Tidying and Dividing

Tidy faded perennials and mulch with compost. Divide overcrowded arums, daylilies, Inca lilies, agapanthus, or Shasta daisies.

Fuchsias: Understanding Their Needs

Drooping fuchsias may not always need water. If the soil is moist, move them to a cooler location or mist the leaves.

Aquatic Plants: Pond Maintenance

Clean your pond and remove decaying leaves.

Pests and Diseases: Preventative Measures

Spray susceptible plants with an organic spray like Copper Count to prevent fungal infections. Use Neem to control aphids and thrips.

Indoor Pot Plants: Nurturing Indoor Beauty

• Orchids: Reduce watering for Dendrobium orchids to induce flowering. Feed Cymbidium orchids regularly with a special orchid food.

• General Care: Reduce watering for indoor pot plants as the weather cools.

• Forced Bulbs: Grow hyacinths and daffodils in glass bowls filled with pebbles and water.

Propagation: Expanding Your Garden

Take semi-hardwood cuttings of plants like abelia, acalypha, and bougainvilleas, and soft tip cuttings of lavender and pelargoniums.

Tea Power: Acid-Loving Plants

Use diluted brewed tea bags to irrigate acid-loving plants like gardenias, azaleas, and ferns.

Herbs: Flavoring Winter Dishes

Plant herbs like chives, oregano, parsley, tarragon, thyme, and rosemary.

Fruit: Preparing for a Bountiful Harvest

• Strawberries: Prepare beds now for April planting.

• Late-Bearing Fruit Trees: Feed late-bearing fruit trees with an organic 3:1:5 or 6:1:5 after harvesting.

• Citrus: Water citrus trees deeply and regularly. Thin out fruit if branches are heavily laden.

• Tropical Fruits: Feed tropical fruits with a balanced fertiliser and maintain good mulch.

Regional Gardening: Tailoring Your Approach

• Summer Rainfall Regions: Reduce watering for established shrubs and trees. Plant hardy shrubs and trees. Sow winter and spring flowering annuals.

• Winter Rainfall Regions: Continue water-wise gardening practices. Plant fynbos species and indigenous bulbs. Prune summer-flowering shrubs and divide agapanthus. Sow winter and spring flowering annuals and vegetables.

• Subtropical Summer Rainfall Regions: Enjoy the cooler weather and prepare for a glorious winter and spring garden. Plant winter vegetables and herbs. Sow annuals and wait to sow Namaqualand daisies, Bokbaai vygies, calendula, cornflowers, Virginian stocks, and nemesia until the end of March or early April.

• Dry, Semi-Arid, and Continental Regions: Reduce watering for established shrubs and trees. Plant hardy shrubs and trees. Tidy perennials and mulch them. Sow winter seeds and vegetables.

March is a month of transition and preparation, offering many opportunities to nurture your garden and ensure a vibrant display throughout the cooler months. 

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