growing · March · 1 min read
March Jobs for Your Cutting Patch
The one-month jump that sets your whole season up — hardy annuals, sweet peas and the first wave of dahlias to wake up.
March is the one-month jump that sets your whole growing season up. On The Cut Flower Podcast I share a comprehensive March checklist for flower growers — covering soil preparation, sowing, perennial management, support installation, and wildlife-friendly practices to ensure a successful growing season.
Here's what we cover on the March episode:
1. Soil preparation and feeding
March is the window when the soil is warming and workable but not yet demanding daily attention. Mulch, lift compaction, top up any low beds. If you're a no-dig grower (like me now — read why I switched), it's compost, compost, compost.
2. Seed sowing under cover and direct sowing timing
The hardy annuals that tolerate a mid-March sowing under cover include cornflowers, ammi, orlaya, nigella and calendula. Wait until late March / early April for direct sowing outside — soil temperature matters more than calendar date.
3. Perennial division and support installation
This is the month to lift and divide overcrowded perennials (achillea, lupin, aster, helenium). Get your supports in before the plants need them — you'll never get jute and canes around a fully grown dahlia in July.
4. Spring bulbs and wildlife-friendly planting
Don't deadhead everything. Leave some seed-heads for the birds. Plan pollinator corridors — a cutting patch that isn't also a pollinator haven is missing a trick.
5. Common mistakes and March checklist
The single biggest March mistake is sowing too early, outdoors, into cold wet soil. Seeds rot. Patience pays.
🎧 Listen to the full episode: The Cut Flower Podcast — March Jobs for your Cutting Patch
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