Garden Year
Our aim is to give you access to relevant and current information about our products and in the following pages you will find details of the entire Vitax portfolio.
Click on any of the catalogue links below for more detailed information on each of the Vitax ranges.
If your questions are not satisfactorily answered here, please contact Customer Services:
|
|
Please select a month from the table below to see our hints & tips for that period.
March
March is the month that brings fair-weather gardeners out of hibernation. By now the early spring bulbs are flowering, prolifically and by the end of the month, in mild areas or after a favourable winter, the main spring-flowering shrubs such as forsythia will be in bloom.
Warmth can now be felt in the strengthening sun, and many seeds germinate readily if they are sown outside. Weed seedlings also germinate freely at this time, and plants such as nettles that die down to ground level in the autumn start to produce fresh new growth. It is impossible not to be aware suddenly that there are all kinds of jobs that need to be done in the garden. Fortunately the better weather makes most of these jobs a pleasure.
Feed seedlings before nutrients in the compost become exhausted. Vitafeed Multi-Purpose Soluble Fertiliser (111) is ideal for seedlings or newly potted plants and will encourage strong healthy growth.
Jobs that won't wait- Mulch beds and borders while soil is moist to reduce watering and weeding later in the year.
- Sow seeds of summer bedding plants, annual climbers, herbs, sweet peas, tomatoes and many vegetables this month.
- Some seeds can be sown directly into open ground but most benefit from being started off in pots or trays with protection from bad weather and pests.
- Prick out seedlings before they become overcrowded, otherwise they will make poor plants.
- Thin hardy annuals and vegetables sown in the open ground before they become crowded and compete with each other for light and nutrients.
- Pot up or space out in seed trays in the greenhouse young bedding plants and tender perennials ordered by post as soon as possible after they arrive.
- Divide congested clumps of border perennials before they make a lot of new growth.
- Take hardwood cuttings of any shrubs you wish to propagate. Soon new growth will make this kind of cutting inappropriate. To aid and encourage root development apply Vitax Rooting Powder.
- Take root cuttings; they are more likely to root if taken from dormant plants.
- Prune roses as soon as possible, ideally before this year's new growth is well developed. Apply a spring top-dressing of approximately 1 oz (25 g) of Vitax Organic Rose Food around each bush.
- Complete planting of bare-root fruit trees and bushes and bare-root roses and other shrubs this month to give them time to establish before dry summer weather. Vitax Conifer and Shrub Fertiliser can be added to the backfill soil, of the planting hole, to provide the full nutrient requirements of the plants. Alternatively, apply Vitax Q4 before planting at a rate of 140 g/m2 to aid vigorous plant growth, abundant flowering and the ripening of fruit later in the year.
- Start spraying fruit such as apples and pears if you have had problems with pests and diseases in previous years. The timing for some sprays is critical and depends on the state of the buds or flowers to avoid harming bees and other beneficial insects.
- Be strict about pest control in the greenhouse. Warm March days under glass can encourage a population explosion of many greenhouse pests and early control is important. Apply Vitax Py Powder or Py Spray Insect Killer a natural fast acting insecticide to control a wide range of pests on flowers, fruit and vegetables. The Vitax Py range controls a wide range insects including, greenfly, white fly, thrips, aphid, caterpillars and leaf feeding beetles.
- Remove the pool heater if you used one over the winter and replace it with the pump.
|
