A gardening checklist for March

March is a busy month in the garden, with planting, pruning and fertilizing topping the list of chores. Prioritize your gardening tasks with these helpful tips from myself and HGTV. 

Prune roses. Late winter/early spring is the ideal time to tackle rose pruning. Always remove dead, diseased or damaged stems (canes), cutting back to a bud on healthy wood. Remove canes that rub on each other when the wind blows. To choose which cane to remove, look at the canes closely. If the bark on one is already damaged, remove it. If one is growing more toward the center of the shrub, remove it. Also, shorten rose canes as needed to control plant size.

Spring clean birdhouses. Nesting is not far away, but there’s still time to make sure birdhouses are clean and in good repair. Tighten loose screws, and consider if you need to add a predator guard to the entrance holes. To keep paper wasps from building nests in birdhouses, coat the inside roof and corners by rubbing a bar of soap across them. The waxy coating prevents wasps from being able to attach nests.

Test soil. Spring is a great time to do a soil test on garden beds. This is an important step with new planting areas but also with established ones and more so if you haven’t taken a soil test in a while. The test measures soil pH and some nutrients, including phosphorus, potassium and calcium. Results include recommendations of what you should add to soil — maybe lime and/or fertilizer.

Think raised beds. Before the mad rush of planting sweeps you under, give your raised beds the once-over. Repair any corners that need it, and decide if you’re happy with the placement of your beds. Does your garden need another raised bed — or three? Would a permanent trellis make growing vining crops easier? Do you want to add hoops to a bed so you can experiment with floating row covers to exclude pests or extend the season?

Cut back clematis. Give deciduous clematis special attention in spring to ensure a spectacular flower show. After all danger of frost has passed, lightly prune large-flowered varieties, removing weak stems and shaping the plant. With small-flowered vines that bloom on new growth in summer and fall, cut plants back to 12″ high. For all clematis, add compost or slow-release fertilizer to soil, gently scratching it in with a hand rake. Refresh the mulch around the base of the vines.

Add mulch. Get mulch on planting beds before plants leaf out completely. Mulch helps soil hang onto moisture, and when the weather warms up, it keeps soil cool. A 2″ to 3″ thick mulch layer (don’t exceed 4”) also helps prevent weed seeds from sprouting. In colder regions, wait until soil has warmed in spring before applying mulch, or you risk slowing down the warm-up.

Bring on the color with creeping phlox. Creeping phlox blankets soil with living color in early spring. The flowers usually open in white, pink, lavender or red hues. Whether you’re planting creeping phlox for the first time or adding to an existing display, the trick to getting the flower color you want is simple: Buy plants in bloom. This same strategy works for azaleas, rhododendrons, heather, daylilies and any other bloomer. If the flower color matters, choose a plant with an open blossom — don’t trust the pot tag.

Turn compost. Use a pitchfork and try to turn the compost pile, adding any fresh material you have. This dislodges any critters that might have taken winter refuge in the pile (like voles). Grab some of the partially decomposed leaves you uncover to use as a perennial mulch. If you have finished compost stored somewhere, use it as a top dressing around clematis, roses, raspberries and blackberries. Finished compost also makes a nice addition to planting holes for new plants and containers used for edibles.

Stock bird feeders. Spring is a great time to spot unusual bird visitors in your yard. Migrating birds welcome a fresh meal after long flights from wintering grounds. Even if your warm-region garden has some blooms that beckon hummingbirds, it’s still a good idea to hang and fill feeders. Also, shove sliced orange halves on shepherd’s hook ends to attract orioles, tanagers and cedar waxwings.

Hopefully, these garden checklist items will help you start your spring 2026 garden with success. 

Tim Lewis is a Georgia Green Industry Association Certified Plant Professional, gardening writer, and former Perry High School horticulture instructor. He can be reached at (478) 954-1507 or timlewis1@windstream.net.