March is the month when the fierce winds called westerlies blow in off the Pacific Ocean. These winds heap sand into dunes and batter cypress into artistic contortions. They also blow the gardener's body heat away and make the garden seem colder than it is.
When the weather warms, begin fertilizing the garden with an all-purpose fertilizer for blooming and fruiting plants. Fertilize roses when they begin to leaf out. Fertilize camellias, azaleas and rhododendron with an acid fertilizer. Fertilize bluegrass, fescue and rye lawns lightly with lawn food.
Fertilize citrus trees with a high-nitrogen fertilizer that includes iron. An iron deficiency produces chlorosis, which manifests as yellowing leaves and is frequently observed in Bay Area citrus.
- Prune uneven azalea growth after the azaleas finish blooming. Pick off withered rhododendron flowers, taking care not to injure the growth just below the flower.
- Finish pruning deciduous dormant plants such as fruit trees, grapes and cane berries before they leaf out. Prune fuchsias at the end of this month, leaving two swelling leaf buds on each pruned branch.
- Plant the last of your bare-root plants in the garden. They should be planted before they begin to leaf out with the warming weather.
- When daffodils finish blooming, leave the leaves attached to the bulb to provide nourishment for next year's bloom. Let the foliage wither and yellow.
- Weed. Best to get weeds pulled up before their roots get strong or, horrors, they set seed.
- Eliminate snails and slugs now before they damage plants.
- Plant annuals such as ageratum, cosmos, impatiens, lobelia, marigold, pansies, petunias and violas. You can mix them in with the perennials to extend the blooming period. Plant perennials such as achillea, campanulas, columbine, geranium and marguerites. Plant summer bulbs such as gladiolus, dahlias and lilies. Begonias from bulbs are also planted now.