10 Gardening Activities for March in the Southwest

1. Continue Planting Summer Crops

The weather is heating up throughout much of the Southwest. Continue planting warm-season crops through March and into April. If you haven’t started seeds for these crops yet, you still can—but hurry. Most crops take 6 to 8 weeks from the time the seeds are planted until they are ready to transplant into the garden. If you don’t think you’ll be able to plant seeds in time, you can plant starts purchased from a local garden center or online from places like Burpee who sell and ship vegetable plants, fruit plants, and herb plants. Look for starts of basil, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, peas, peppers, squash, tomatoes, and more. Fill out your summer fruit garden with watermelons, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Many gardeners love growing heirlooms because they have unique historic backgrounds and tasty flavor profiles. If you haven’t grown them, try some out this season.

2. Check Irrigation Systems

Irrigation that hasn’t been actively used over the fall and winter months should be checked and tested. Be sure that drip irrigation is set up in garden beds and vegetables beds if you’re using it. Turn on sprinkler timers to make sure they are operating properly. Adjust nozzles on both sprinklers and drip systems to make sure they are watering soil and plants instead of spraying onto pavement or leaking out of garden beds. See more: Irrigation For Your Garden.

3. Resume Lawn-Care Activities

Warm-season lawns will begin to emerge from dormancy this month. As they do, be sure to check irrigation to make sure sprinklers are working properly and not over-spraying driveways or walkways. Once grass reaches 3 inches tall, it's time to mow. If you reseeded your lawn in late winter, then begin fertilizing this month when the weather is warm (this is typically around the time you need to cut your lawn for the first time). To prevent crab grass and other weed seeds from germinating, apply pre-emergents such as Espoma Organic Weed Preventer. Read label directions regarding how soon to use after reseeding, as this will also prevent grass seed from germinating.

4. Plant Citrus

At this time of year, citrus trees are often done fruiting and they are starting to put on new foliage growth and flowers. Roots are also growing and their growth will speed up as the weather warms. When selecting which citrus trees to grow, choose different varieties so you have fruit throughout much of the year and choose a mix of flavors, too. You want a mix of different varieties of oranges, lemons, limes, mandarin, grapefruit, and even off-beat varieties such as Australian finger lime or Buddha’s hand citron. Citrus can also be grown in containers if you’re short on space. Watch this video that shows how to pot citrus. Look for citrus at local nurseries or within your state. By law, many online retailers cannot ship citrus from state to state.

5. Divide Agave

Agaves in your garden that have offsets, or pups, can be divided and replanted this month. To separate offsets from the mother plant, loosen the soil around the plants and dig until you can see the underground branches. When digging, be sure to wear protective clothing and glasses so you don’t get poked by agave spines. Slice the underground branches with a clean garden spade, loppers, or a soil knife. Once pups are removed from the mother plant, let their newly cut stems callus over for 3 to 6 days and then replant in containers or in your garden. Provide adequate water while they get established.

6. Add Compost and Fertilize Your Garden

Refresh your garden beds, raised beds, and containers with a healthy dose of compost and fertilizer this month. Doing this will ensure that your annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees start the growing season with the proper nutrients for lush growth, and later, the production of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

7. Plant Potatoes

Potatoes are a productive crop that isn’t too difficult to grow if you follow a few simple growing steps. Kevin Lee Jacobs—a gardening expert and blogger—provides a number of tips for growing great potatoes at home. His first tip is to grow them in raised beds where you have loose, well-draining, fertile soil that doesn’t require constant attention or watering (which is the case when potatoes are grown in containers, grow bags, or buckets). Search for potatoes online through retailers such as Burpee, Johnny's Selected Seeds, or Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co.

8. Refresh Container Gardens for Spring

Spring is the perfect time to refresh winter container gardens; or if your containers are in storage, then it’s time to bring them out for the season. Fill them with a mix of perennials and annuals, as well as trees, shrubs, or larger plants. The age-old guide for designing container gardens is still one to live by: Plant a thriller, filler, and spiller. You may plant more than one of each but you want to have a plant that fits into each category in your container garden. Proven Winners has over a thousand container recipes and you can buy the plants included in each design on their website. Another design strategy to consider is planting a container garden for hummingbirds.

9. Start a Butterfly Garden

For a successful butterfly garden you’ll need protective habitat such as shrubs for cover, sources of nectar, and food for caterpillars to eat. Pay particular attention to planting natives that are host plants for butterflies—what native butterflies lay their eggs on and maturing caterpillars eat during their maturation. Desert hackberry (Celtis ehrenbergiana) shrub is food for the Empress Leilia and the American Snout butterflies. Milkweeds are host plants for Monarch butterflies. Native mesquite trees are host plants for Hairstreaks. Native pipevine (Aristolochia watsonii) is a host plant for the Pipevine Swallowtail. Native passionflower (Passiflora foetida) is a host plant for the Gulf Fritillary. Read more about plants for butterflies through Desert Connections. Find plants that attract and sustain butterflies at a local nursery or online at retailers such as Proven Winners.

10. Explore the Desert Botanical Garden

Spring is the perfect time to take a trip to the Desert Botanical Garden (it’s worth the trip even if you don’t live in Phoenix). During this time of year, the garden isn’t too hot, but by May or June it’s typically over 95 degrees. Enjoy their full line-up of classes, speakers, events, music in the garden, and more. View their upcoming events to start planning your visit.