MARCH 2003
Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

Garden Checklist for March 2003 By Dr. William C. Welch, Landscape Horticulturist Texas A&M University Check with your local county agent for the average last killing freeze date for your area. Killing freezes can and do occur after this date but it is a good indication. Click on picture to see larger image Home grown habanero peppers Pruning of evergreens and summer flowering trees and shrubs should be completed in early March. Prune spring flowering trees and shrubs as soon as they finish blooming. Start hanging baskets of petunias, ferns and others for another dimension in landscape color. Plant dahlia tubers in fertile, well-drained soil. In North Texas there is still time to plant seeds of your favorite annuals in flats to be transplanted out-of-doors when danger of frost is past. Select and order caladium tubers as well as geranium and coleus plants for late April and early May planting. Do not plant caladiums until soil temperature reaches 70F. As camellia and azalea plants finish blooming, fertilize them with three pounds of azalea-camellia fertilizer per 100 square feet of bed area. Check mulch on azalea and camellia beds and add where needed. Fertilize roses every 4 to 6 weeks from now until September. Beware of close-out sales on bare-root trees and shrubs. The chance of survival is rather low on bare-root plants this late in the season. Your best bet at this time of year is to depend on container-grown or balled-and-burlapped plants for landscape use.     Return to Horticulture Update   |   Return to Aggie-Horticulture