March 2025 Tips

Dear Gardening Friends,   This has been a wintry winter that’s for sure. Look on the bright side, it’s actually good for plants to have constant snow cover. The blanket of snow helps protect plant roots from temperature fluctuations, helps prevent heaving, and the melting snow in spring adds moisture to the soil.   We have no idea what March will bring. It could be spring or more winter. The following are some tips for late winter.   Snow damage:   Depending on where you live you had a relatively normal (if long) winter, or a lot of snow. Whatever your situation the following suggestions should help reduce snow damage.        If you have salt and road grit covered snow piles near gardens, groundcover or lawn, shovel      off some of the crusty residue into the street as the piles melt. That will prevent much of the salt and grit from winding up on your vegetation. I have to do that along my driveway and even though it’s a way to the street I still haul it away from the garden beds. Once the snow is melted any left over grit can be raked off and salt residue washed down with a hose.        Any branches from shrubs or small trees that are stuck in snowbanks or just deep snow (as some of mine are) don’t try and pull them out. That just causes damage/breakage. Let the snow melt naturally. Even then it will take a while for the branches to right themselves. Don’t try and push it.        Don’t rush out on the wet/soft soil or lawn. As the top of the soil thaws and softens you will easily compact the soil by walking on it when it’s too wet. A good cue is, if you leave a footprint it’s too soft.        This is an ideal time to prune. Due to the fearsome winds we had this winter there are a lot of damaged branches around. Some trees and/or shrubs may need some shaping or reducing. Trees and shrubs that bloom in the spring like rhododendrons, forsythia, and lilacs should be pruned AFTER they bloom. Ideally for the other plants they should be pruned before their buds open. For information on pruning look at Cornell’s information on pruning particular trees & shrubs. If you would like to learn how to prune contact me for a pruning consult. We would do the pruning together while I demonstrated proper techniques. Better to be safe than sorry when you prune.     Upcoming Garden Events:           Master Gardener Education Day, March 8th – SOLD OUT        Plantasia, the annual WNY Premier Garden Show will be held at the Hamburg Fair Ground Thursday, March 13 – Sunday, March 16, 2025. This is a wonderful opportunity to see what’s new in the gardening world and visit with numerous vendors and landscape designers. There are also daily informative presentations free with admission and many garden related organization booths to learn from. For more information go to: https://plantasiany.com/   I’ll be making two presentations:      Sat. 15th at 4:00 PM – Sustainability: Garden Smarter with Less Work & Support Nature at the Same Time        Sun. 16th at 11:00 AM – Native Flowers and Foliage Plants for WNY   Ithaca Native Landscape Symposium Friday, March 21st. Available in person or on Zoom. An incredible day of learning about utilizing native plants. For information go to: https://www.ithacanativelandscape.com/         Contact me for a garden or pruning consultation. I can help improve your gardening and pruning skills and practices as well as saving you time and money! It’s never too late for improvements. Happy gardening! Lyn Chimera Lessons from Nature 170 Pine St. E. Aurora, NY 14052 [email protected] 716- 652-2432   Copyright © 2025 Lessons from Nature, All rights reserved. You're receiving this message because you requested to receive Lessons from Nature newsletters. Our mailing address is: Lessons from Nature 37 N Union Rd Williamsville, NY 14221 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.