March 2002

Edible

Plant spinach as soon as soil can be worked. Plant smooth leaf varieties rather than Savoy (crinkle). Savoy leaf varieties catch soil during rainstorms and can feel gritty when chewed. Factsheet available.

Plant potatoes from mid-March through mid-April. Late varieties can be planted on top of the ground in straw. Factsheet available.

Start seeds for eggplant, tomato and peppers late in the month.

Plant onion sets in late March.

Prune grapes. Grapes are produced from buds of one year old canes which are about 1/2 to 1/3 inch in diameter and are reddish brown. When correctly pruned 80-90 percent of the grape wood is removed every year giving you lots of wood for grape wreaths.

Ornamental

Prune yews (taxus) in late March to early April.

Remove winter debris from lawn.

Prune summer flowering shrubs like snowball hydrangea and pink spirea.

Divide summer and fall blooming perennials.

Watch for the Gypsy moth this year. Look for newly hatched caterpillars that are about one eighth of an inch long and mostly dark brown to black. These caterpillars can defoliate neighborhoods and forests in the two months they feed. They will develop blue and rusty red spots with tufts of hair. They feed in tree tops at night during May & June. Oaks are most susceptible.

Start tuberous begonias and caladiums indoors.

Cut ornamental grasses back to the ground.

Try the Perennial Plant of the Year Phlox ‘David.’ This erect perennial is 36-40 inches tall and has bright white clusters of fragrant flowers that bloom mid-July to September.

Avoid applying large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer to lawns in spring. March is not the time for fertilizing, wait until the lawn has been mowed a few times before fertilizing, typically late April or early May.

Choose a quality lawn fertilizer that contains controlled release, slow release, or water soluble nitrogen. These nitrogen sources will release small amounts of nitrogen to the turf over an extended period of time.

Do not apply crabgrass pre-emergence in March. Crabgrass will not usually germinate until late May or June. May 1 is a good target date for application.

Avoid seeding lawns in spring. Early fall is the best time with more favorable weather and less weeds. If seeding in the spring, seed by mid-April to avoid hot weather that would slow growth.

Try viburnums in your landscape. Most of these shrubs flower and produce fruit that will attract birds. Factsheet of recommended viburnums available.

Calculate the square footage of your lawn in order to spread seed or fertilizer. Take the entire size of the lot and then subtract everything that is not lawn area. For example, an acre is 43,650 square feet. If your lot is 1/2 acre, divide by 2, 1/4 acre divide by 4, to come up with an overall square footage. Then subtract the area of the house, drive, deck and gardens.

Beware of "Miracle Plants" such as Siberian lavender. Advertisements state it produces thousands of flowers. This is actually Russian sage which has soft bluish flowers, in loose spikes and smells more like sage.

Zoysiagrass is touted to be very heat and drought tolerant and creates a tough, vigorous lawn. This is all true. What they don’t tell you is that in spring and fall in the Chicago area, zoysiagrass is straw brown while other grasses are green.

Buffalograss is advertised as needing little care, little water and little mowing. But, they forget to tell you that it takes a long time to become established allowing weeds to invade. Buffalograss makes a very poor quality lawn and is dormant in spring and fall.