Divide and Conker
The first week or two of March can still feel like winter is still hanging about like a sulky teenager, and one can only hope that the East wind we endured in January and through Febuary will not return. Spring usually arrives by mid-March and the frequent sunny days and lengthening days can provide opportunity for an increasing range of gardening jobs.
If the ground is still wet and cold, avoid walking on the beds, as this will only compact the soil, knocking the life out of it and you will only be making more work for yourself later on.
As Febuary was reasonably cold and dry, I’ve managed to carry out the majority of the winter pruning, but there are always one or two tasks best performed as the weather begins to warm up.
Shrubs like Buddleia, Cornus (Dogwood) and the willow family will benefit from cutting hard back in March. Fuchsias will also benefit being chopped to the ground every few years to help remove that long woody growth and produce an abundance of bigger and brighter flowers. The prunings of these shrubs will make excellent hard woodcuttings especially the willow.
Last year we bought in 150 willow slips at 7ft long from a grower in Somerset. These were simply poked into the ground and woven into a geometric pattern by my daughter and her friend, watered well through last years dry spring and they provided a fine wind break for the Dahlia bed.
Another task that can reap dividends later in the year, is the lifting and dividing of any overgrown clumps of perennials they can be divided at any time of the year if you give the plant appropriate care afterward. But for the best return on your time and the quickest reestablishment of the perennials, is to divide when the soil is warmer than the air for at least part of every 24-hour period. That’s just before peak daffodil season in spring these conditions will allow the roots of the division to grow while the tops stay low, out of the sun and wind.
Dig around the plant allowing plenty of room for the root ball. Once the plant is free simply use two garden forks back to back inserted into the root and prise them apart.
More often than not one plant will multiply into five or six. Dig plenty of organic matter into the planting area and replant only the young healthy growth, discarding any woody parts.
It’s also an opportune time to divide some of the grass family such as Miscanthus and pennisitum.
Jobs
this month
1.
Plant shallots, onion sets and early potatoes
2.
Protect new spring shoots from slugs
3.
Plant summer-flowering bulbs
4.
Top dress containers with fresh compost
5.
Mow the lawn on dry days
6.
Weeds come back in to growth - deal with them before they
get out of hand
7.
Open the greenhouse or conservatory doors and vents on warm
days
