Monty Don shares important gardening job you should never do in March

09 March 2024 , 08:00

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Monty Don warns to leave this garden job until June (Image: Brentwood Gazette)

Timing is everything when it comes to gardening, and now experts are warning against getting too green-fingered this month.

There are plenty of jobs to be getting on with in your garden this March, but there is one that you shouldn't even think about tackling just yet, no matter how tempted you may be to start, Monty Don has warned.

This task should not be on your Easter to-do list, as it could actually do damage to your green space and spoil your blooms for next year.

Writing on his blog, TV presenter and horticulturist Monty Don explains that you should definitely avoid pruning or tidying up any of your bulbs just yet, because important natural processes will be ongoing until June, and doing so could mean that you don't get any display from them next year.

"Do NOT cut back, tie, or tidy the leaves of any bulbs but let them die back naturally as next year's flower is being created by the photosynthesis of the foliage," writes Don. "Leave them until the last trace of green has gone - which will be at least June - and then cut back the dead foliage."

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While you might prefer getting any untidiness sorted out as soon as possible, the foliage photosynthesising is a crucial process that allows the flower new life next year, and this natural cycle means you have to put up with the foliage until it has fully gone over.

The Royal Horticultural society also advises leaving the leaves of your spring blooms in place until they have totally died back, so as not to interfere with the photosynthesis process, "You will only need to prune to remove unwanted seed heads and the foliage once it has died down at the end of the bulb's growing period," they say.

From snowdrops - some of the first blooms we get to see after the cold winter frosts - to daffodils and tulips, whatever bulbs you planted last year need to be left when it comes to pruning, but there is still plenty you can be getting on with in you garden this month.

According to Don, who has written books on gardening, this includes pruning any climbers you have in your garden - like clematis or buddleia, and any shrub you have can also be cut back at this time of year. You should also cut back any ornamental grasses - but don't move them or divide them just yet, this is also best left until May or June when it's warmer. But "any herbaceous plant can be divided this month," and you should also give your lawn a light trim.

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Emma Mackenzie