Rick Durham, Consumer Horticulture Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky
 

Time to work in the garden and landscape!

March marks the time when most of us can resume steady work in the garden. The soil has thawed and will likely not freeze again as long as the weather doesn't turn extremely cold. Here are some activities to accomplish during the windy month. Don't overexert those underworked, winter muscles as you begin your spring gardening. Bend at the knees and lift with your legs, not your back.

• Start preparing the vegetable garden and flower beds as soon the soil is able to be worked. Test this by forming a ball of soil in your hand. If it crumbles apart rather than sticks together, it is dry enough to be worked.
• Plant cool season crops such as onions, radishes, lettuce, and spinach as soon as you can work the soil.
• Transplant trees and shrubs while they are still dormant. Also, make plans to purchase trees, shrubs, and perennials for spring planting.
• Prune tree fruits and small fruits while they are still dormant. Remove damaged branches from trees and shrubs. Wait to prune spring flowering trees and shrubs until after they have flowered.
• Begin raking back mulch from perennials as warm weather returns. Mulch deeper than one to two inches may smother regrowth.
• Canna rhizomes that were overwintered indoors can be potted up in nursery containers or large boxes to get a jump-start on their growth and flowering this summer. Divide the rhizomes into pieces that each have 2-3 growing points or eyes, and plant them using a well-drained potting mix. Transplant to the garden when all danger of frost is past.
• As the foliage of spring-flowering bulbs begins to appear, apply a complete fertilizer to the surface of the soil. For a complete fertilizer like 10-10-10, an appropriate rate would be 1-2 pounds of a fertilizer per 100 square feet.

 

Liriope, or lily-turf, is a tough grass-like plant that makes a dense ground cover under almost any condition. It generally prefers light shade but will also tolerate fairly heavy shade or even sunny areas. Growth will be less under sub-optimal conditions. There are two species of liriope commonly used in the landscape. Liriope spicata, or creeping lily-turf, has leaves 18 inches long and about 1/4 inch wide. This liriope has small, pale violet to white flowers on spike-like racemes in late summer. Liriope muscari, or blue lily-turf, is more common in southern gardens including Kentucky. The leaves of this species are much broader (to one inch) but may not be quite as long as those of L. spicata. Dwarf forms reaching only 8 inches tall are availabe. The flowers are lilac-purple or white, depending on cultivar, and are more noticeable than spicata. Cultivars with variegated foliage are also available.

During an average winter the foliage will remain green until late January and then turn a greenish brown due to winter damage. The timing of this may be accelerated or delayed depending on weather severity. Around March, it is best to remove the foliage to near soil level to promote new growth. For large plantings, this can be accomplished with a rotary mower set at an appropriate height so that the crowns of the plants remain undamaged. Both liriopes spread, or creep, by underground stolons and may be hard to contain in a mixed bed situation. However, if a ground cover effect is desired, this is the plant. The spreading runners will quickly form a dense mat of foliage that will out compete most weeds. Propagate in spring by division of the clumps.
 

Tuberous begonias.

Tuberous begonias are used as bedding plants in shaded spots or in hanging baskets or window boxes. They can be propagated from seed but as the name suggests, the plants also produce tubers (modified, underground stems) if the growing season is long. Propagation by seed is challenging because the seed is very fine and slow to germinate. A better option is to purchase plants and then dig the tubers prior to the first fall frost. Overwinter the tubers in a cool dry place by wrapping in newspaper or placing in peat moss. For summer-long flowering it is best to start the tubers indoors during late February or early March. Sprout the tubers by placing them, hollow side up, fairly close together in shallow, well-drained pans. Use a mix of equal parts perlite, sphagnum, peat moss, and vermiculite; or chopped sphagnum moss and perlite. This should be kept damp (not soggy). Place the pans in a shady window with a temperature in the lower 60s. Transplant the tubers to pots or baskets when growth starts, normally within 3 weeks. Place outside only after all threat of frost has passed. Cuttings for rooting can be taken from plants in the spring. A few notable cultivars include the Pin Up series with dark green leaves and single flowers, the Non Stop series with bright green leaves and double flowers, and the Show Angel series that have pendulous growth making them good for hanging baskets and window boxes.
 

Insects are not all bad!

If it is crawling on my plant should I try to kill it? This is the question that often runs through our minds as we patrol our landscapes and vegetable gardens. But consider, to the untrained eye, a ladybird beetle larva looks pretty suspect-small black and red insect with an alligator-like tail, often found in great numbers on succulent parts of plants. Surely these little bugs are up to no good. Wait...look closer, could that be small aphids that these little carnivores are eating? Wow, they even have a taste for scale and white flies! Indeed, your plants are safe, even benefitting from the presence of these immature predator insects. No, insects are not all bad, there are many that are beneficial to the landscape and garden and even beneficial to us in our everyday lives. Consider:

• Insects aid in the natural decomposition of dead plants and animals. Without insects the world would be a much smellier, trashier place!
• Insects serve as predators to other insects that attack crop and landscape plants.
• Insects serve as pollinators for many flowers and so are indirectly responsible for the development of many of the fruits and vegetables that we eat.
• Insects feed on weeds and help to keep them in check.
• Insects improve the condition and fertility of the soil by burrowing through it and depositing their waste.
• Insects enrich the quality of our lives through the sounds they make and the dynamic colors of their wings and bodies.