Spring gardening 101: nonprofit plant sales, garden tips and a schedule

In spring, a gardener’s thoughts turn to planting and growing. Here’s how to get ready for that busy time of year.

CLEAN THE LANDSCAPE

Mid-March is a good time to put away winter and make way for spring, says Paul Connolly, a landscape designer who owns Sundrea Landscape Center.

That’s usually when the threat of freeze and frost is over, although it is possible that a late cold snap could hit.

On the other hand, a warm winter could mean “March 1 could be safe,” Connolly says.

Whenever you decide to tackle the yard, start with cutting away parts of your plants that were damaged in cold weather. Also cut back lantana, salvia and bougainvillea so that they lushly grow back.

“I never recommend shearing plants,” Connolly says. “Use hand shears and cut at the joints. It takes longer, but it’s better for the health of the plant to maintain a natural appearance.”

Connolly had some other advice for the season.

• Change your irrigation timer to water more frequently as it warms up.
• Replace tired winter annuals with summer ones. Buy early to “beat the rush,” he says, but remember that right now most are not flowering.

If new plantings include specimens around the pool, Christina Boucher, owner of Aqua Solutions by Christina Inc., suggests keeping them “low, evergreen and not messy.”

That’s mostly to avoid having to clean the pool of plant debris. Additionally, you want to avoid trees with long, strong roots that can damage pool plumbing.

And keep out plants that can poke or cut you.

Plants that Boucher recommends include pistache tree, rosemary, annual and perennial flowering plants and ferns.

TEND TO THE EDIBLES

Brandon Merchant likes an organized garden, so at this time he starts plotting it out on paper.

That exercise gives him time to order seeds, helps him decide when to pull out winter veggies and provides him some restraint.

“My eyes are always bigger than my garden plot,” admits Merchant, an organic gardener who owns Southwest Victory Gardens. A plan allows him to maximize his space.

At least two weeks before you plant spring and summer edibles, amend the soil with 2 to 6 inches of compost, he advises. That’s usually enough for an established plot.

For a brand new garden, dig in the compost and alfalfa meal or cottonseed meal, available at feed stores, to add more nutrients.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

If you want to use manure, Merchant suggests putting fresh manure in the compost pile so that it can cure.

Whatever you use, mix the amendments into the ground, water it and let it rest for a few days, or two to four weeks for composted manure.

Merchant offers these other tips for getting started for the season:

• Install trellises and cages at the same time you plant. It will be a chore to add them later when the plants are big enough to use them.
• Buy shade cloth and other heat-fighting items well before the temperatures rise. “That stuff starts to sell out in the market” right when you’ll need it.

BUY PLANTS

Nonprofit groups offer the right plants and advice for gardening at this time of year.

• Green Valley Gardeners Spring Plant Sale

• , March 3-5, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Find plants specially selected for the Green Valley climate, as well as garden soil. Continental Shopping Plaza, around 210 W. Continental Road.

• Desert Survivors Spring Plant Sale

• , March 8-12, regular nursery hours. Shoppers get 10 percent off every plant, including the featured species desert hyacinth, native plumbago, Baja spurge and cliff goldenbush. 1020 W. Starr Pass Road.

• Tucson Organic Gardeners Spring Fair

• , March 19, 9 a.m.-noon. The fair hours have changed, but the offerings are the same: plants, seeds, compost, composting supplies and other gardening stuff, plus children’s activities, a food truck and raffle. St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church, 3809 E. Third St.

• Tohono Chul Park Spring Plant Sale

• , March 19, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and March 20, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Because of good winter rains, the park expects to have lots of wildflowers such as poppies, bluebells and tidy tips. There also will be a large selection of agaves and aloes. 7366 N. Paseo del Norte.

• Green Valley Gardeners Spring Fair

• , March 20, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Co-sponsored by the Tucson Cactus & Succulent Society, the event offers collectible succulents, flowering plants, garden art and landscape plants rescued from land set for development. Workshops will focus on desert gardening. Continental Shopping Plaza, around 210 W. Continental Road.

• Master Gardeners Spring Plant Sale

• , April 9, 8-11 a.m. Aloes, adeniums, plumeria, figs and wildflowers are expected to be in abundance. Used containers, including stock tanks, will be available for sale. Pima County Cooperative Extension, 4210 N. Campbell Ave.