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

March 2007

Garden Checklist for March, 2007


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.

    Tomatoes from seed
    Tomatoes from seed

  • 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.

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