Jo Whittingham: Now's the time to prune, weed, mulch and plant

Spring arrives this month so, even if the weather suggests otherwise, it's time to get out and garden. First on the list are any remaining winter tasks, such as pruning fruit trees and bushes, and cutting back herbaceous perennials, which should be finished before their green shoots burst into life.

Pruning is a spring task

Unfortunately longer days and milder weather bring with them weeds. Many didn’t stop growing during the warm, wet winter, so waste no time uprooting them before they set seed. Grass also springs into growth this month. Mowing the lawn when conditions are dry really helps spruce up the garden, as does cutting a crisp new edge with a half-moon cutter.

Many herbaceous perennials can be lifted and divided as their shoots emerge. I’m taking the opportunity to dig up overcrowded clumps of geraniums, rudbeckias, pulmonarias and other favourites in my front border, so they can be split, rearranged and moved from beneath maturing shrubs.

This is also a great time to plant perennials and shrubs; the perfect excuse for a trip to the nursery in search of exciting new additions. Fill any gaps left while plants establish by planting summer-flowering bulbs this month, or sowing hardy annuals, such as pot marigolds (Calendula), 
in pots to plant out later in spring.Pruning is another priority in March. Cut bush roses down to an outward-facing bud, with the aim of creating an open-centred, cup-shaped bush. Prune back summer-flowering shrubs, such as Buddleja davidii, Lavatera, hardy fuchsias and Caryopteris x clandonensis, hard to keep them a manageable size. Cornus and Salix, grown for their colourful winter stems, should also be cut back to the base to encourage strong new growth. Late-summer and autumn-flowering Clematis need pruning back to the first pair of buds above soil level during March too. Feed and mulch following hard pruning to fuel the vigorous new growth that will provide this year’s flowers.

March is still too chilly for much outdoor sowing in the vegetable plot, but prepare beds by weeding and adding well rotted compost. Broad beans can be sown now in soil that is not too wet, or started off in deep pots for planting out later. Try the fast-cropping variety ‘Witkiem Manita’, which can often be harvested in June from early March sowings. To give heat-loving crops, like tomatoes, chillies and aubergines, the best chance of ripening fruit in a Scottish summer, start them in a heated propagator or on a warm windowsill. First-early potatoes can also usually be planted out at the end of the month, but keep them chitting on a windowsill into April if frosty nights are clinging on.