March Landscape and Gardening Tips

March is here, and the warm days are on the way, which means right now is the best time to plant because everything is growing and blooming! Now is the time of year we recommend getting a little more work done in your yard. We promise it’ll be worth the beautiful new plant growth that’s on the way!

Keep reading to learn a few tips and tricks your yard can benefit from these next few weeks. Between the weather we have had in the last couple of months and these tips from our nursery pros, your landscape will explode in new growth come this spring!

New Planting Projects

We were lucky to get some rain recently, and with the temperature warming up, now is the best time to plant new material into your landscape. The extra water enriches the soil, which allows for easier planting and creates a calmer transition with less stress on your plants. This will let your trees and shrubs grow accustomed to their new home and establish into the soil.

Fertilizing the Yard

Fertilize and feed your landscape missing nutrients that give trees and shrubs a boost to help during the spring growing season. Moon Valley Nurseries has custom blends of fertilizer and nutrient products like Super Charged Moon Juice to maximize tree performance and health. March is also the time to start using Moon Dust monthly until October to make sure your landscape is healthy through the seasons.

Pruning or Trimming

To help your trees mature faster and healthier during the growing period, trim them in the spring. Remove broken or damaged branches to promote better overall growth and tree health with proper pruning technique to cause the least amount of damage. After pruning, supplement with Super Charged Moon Juice to get that much-needed boost of micronutrients to the plant as it recovers from the trimming/pruning cuts.

Stop Weeds from Growing

Hopefully you aren’t seeing any weeds in your landscape yet but the warmer temps will give them an extra boost to start growing rapidly. Avoid that problem altogether and start applying pre-emergent products to your yard today.

These products will keep them from even developing into a weed!  If they have started to appear already, remove them as they show up, so they don’t spread more seeds. After you pull all the visible weeds around your home, using post-emergent products will help gain control of your yard again.

Lawn Care Tips

Whether it’s visible yet or not, the transition in your lawn from winter to spring has started, and the little things you can do now will make a big difference (and save you lots of work and money later) in the long run. Below are some tips we put together to help your keep your lawn looking great all spring!

• Like we mentioned earlier, preventing and removing weeds that you find in your lawn and landscape is the first step to bringing it back to perfect health.
• Remove the thatch that lays on top of the lawn to help get water and nutrients deeper into the soil and grass.
• Aerate your grass so your soil is loosened for better water and nutrient intake, new grass growth, and fertilizer to get all the way to the roots.
• Apply lawn fertilizer, like our Moon Royale Turf Fertilizer, to bring your dormant lawn back to life and back to green!
• Water your lawn as needed for your yard. You might have to adjust the watering schedule a few times during spring as the temperatures continue to rise.

Trees to Plant in March (Perfect for Spring)

Purple Leaf Plum

This beautiful tree produces a showy display of light pink flowers in spring and dark purple foliage, perfect when you want a flowery ornamental tree in your landscape design. These accent trees make a bold and bright statement, however you choose to plant them in your yard.

Chinese ‘True Green’ Elm

The Chinese Elm is a beautiful tree that has become a very popular choice for our customers due to its dark green foliage. The umbrella-shaped canopy creates massive shade to any yard. This tree grows fast and thrives in our hot and sunny environment. Our custom-grown ‘True Green’ variety can be found all over the Southwest from public parks to our customers yards! 

Piru Queen Palm

Specially grown at our farms, our Piru Queen Palm is unlike other varieties. Our Piru Queen Palms feature thicker and hardier trunks, denser and greener fronds, and produce fuller crowns. This palm can handle hot summers, cold winters, and windy days. The palm is supported by a narrow trunk, which makes it ideal in tight spaces or around your pool for a tropical atmosphere.