MARCH
I think we are all happy to put February behind us and set our sights to spring. Mother Nature was not kind to our gardens, and there are a lot of reminders of the "polar vortex." But March can be a mix of weather, from higher temperatures to a freeze, so pay attention.
The key word for March is wait.
Many evergreen shrubs have damaged leaves and potential die-back. That is the most common question from gardeners since the snow receded — what to do with the damaged plants? The best answer is wait to see what happens. Patience is not always our strong suit, but this year we are going to need a lot of it. Once warmer weather persists, plants will again begin to grow — or at least we hope so. Then you can begin to assess what is going on. Split stems from frozen tissue exploding will be evident once plants start growing. Those stems will not die immediately, but will die before the summer is over.
The plants that seem to be hit the hardest (at least in Central Arkansas) are: loropetalum, gardenias, abelia, wax leaf Ligustrum, sweet olive and fatsia. Some azaleas have brown leaves, and the more tender varieties may have lost flower buds, too. Most people assume their big leaf hydrangeas are damaged, but I have seen some green buds still on some. Wait and see where new growth begins before pruning.
◼️ Late February to mid-March is the normal time to prune roses, fruit trees, grape vines and summer-flowering shrubs and trees, including crape myrtle, butterfly bush, summer spirea and abelia. It is also the time to prune all the ornamental grasses back. If you were planning to prune, prune as you normally would have and then see if more pruning will be necessary after growth begins.
◼️ I have been getting various reports on roses, with some experts saying they have plants dead to the ground, dead to the snow line or just tip-burned. Variety, location and health of the plant will all play a part, so wait and see. Roses do need annual pruning before new growth is actively growing.
◼️ Winter annuals have various degrees of damage. Some pansies and violas came through unscathed, while others are a thing of the past. If yours are living, fertilize them and enjoy them for another month or so until you plant summer annuals. If you did not cover flowering kale or cabbage, it is time to pull it. Most of it turned to mush, and we don't have enough season left to wait for it to recover. The giant purple mustard came through with flying colors, whether it was covered or not.
◼️ Spring bulbs are doing fine. If you had open blooms, they were hit, but the snow really insulated the plants, and I have already seen blooming daffodils and crocuses since the snow receded. If flower stems are damaged, cut those off, but let the foliage grow for at least six more weeks. All spring bulbs need six to eight weeks of green growth after bloom to sprout flowers for next year.
◼️ I have been getting a lot of questions about rosemary. Some rosemary cultivars are more hardy than others, and plants in containers are more sensitive than those in the ground. If yours are totally brown, you might want to cut out some stems and use them as shish-kebab skewers. You can cut into a branch and see if there is green inside. If there is, see if the plant starts growing. Mine have a few brown branches but for the most part came through just fine.
◼️ I think many gardeners were pleasantly surprised that their winter vegetables made it through — some with covering, others without. I used several layers of covering, and even all my lettuce made it through. Continue to harvest as needed, and start planting. March is the ideal time to plant almost all the cool-season vegetables from greens to broccoli, cabbage, radishes, lettuce, onions and potatoes. You have until early April to get them planted.
◼️ Unfortunately, winter weeds weren't damaged at all by the cold. It might have slowed down some blooms for a bit, but I have seen blooms already back up on henbit and dandelions. If you are planning to kill them, the time is now. If you just have a few, get a good hoe or weed digger and handle them.
◼️ Winter weeds don't have much longer to live, but it won't be long before summer weeds start showing up. Pre-emergent herbicides can still be applied to lawns, but read and follow label directions. Don't fertilize lawns until they are fully green — with lawn grasses, not weeds!
NATIVE PLANT OF THE MONTH
Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) is a wonderful, small, early spring-blooming tree for Arkansas landscapes.
This member of the rose family can grow 20-25 feet tall and wide.
This native tree is one of the first to bloom, with white blooms before the leaves are fully formed, followed by small green berries that ripen from red to dark purple in the summer.
Other common names include Juneberry (for the fruits), and shadbush, because it supposedly blooms when the shad start running in the spring. Serviceberry was the common name because back in the hill country, itinerant preachers often didn't make it out to do services in the winter months. As spring thaw was occurring (and Amelanchier was blooming) the preachers could get through to hold a service, thus service (or sarvis) berry.
It has the pretty white blooms, edible small fruits that birds and other animals love, and good fall color. It does sucker, so to keep it as a single-trunked tree, pruning is required, or you can leave the suckers in place to see it grow as a large, multi-trunked shrub or small bushy tree.
Read Janet Carson's blog at arkansasonline.com/planitjanet.