March Flowers: What's Blooming Now

Filed under: Gardening, Flowers, Garden Tours

In our column, "What Blooms This Month," garden writer Marie Viljoen tells us what will be blooming in our gardens every month of the year. With March comes unpredictable weather and enough spring blooms to fill a bouquet.

The teeth of winter still have a firm grip on the days' temperatures but change is apparent everywhere in March. Green shoots are breaking the earth's cold surface and flowers are beginning to open in one of the richest floral months of the year.

Some of the most beautiful and surprising flowers to open this month are spring-blooming camellias. Unlike their cousins that bloom in fall, Camellia japonica cultivars belong to the new year where their luscious blooms make vivid splashes of color against their dark leaves.

Growing hardily from USDA Zones 7-9 (with some wiggle room in very protected sites in Zone 6), camellias like to bloom in slightly acidic soil in partial or dappled shade. They should be planted near the protection of shrubs or a wall that shelters them from the prevailing cold wind, or their flowers and foliage will become frost-bitten and brown. Top dress them every year with shredded bark or compost, and fertilize in spring, making sure that they do not dry out when in bud. Camellias grow well in containers as they are slow growing. The cut flowers last a couple of weeks in water and lend elegance and beauty to any room that they grace.

Not a cherry at all, as its common name 'Cornelian Cherry' suggests, Cornus mas belongs to the dogwood family. Its brilliant yellow flowers open in bright umbels from small knots of buds in very early spring, often while snow is still on the ground. The explosion of yellow is a certain sign that spring is on its way, though the small trees are generally in bloom weeks ahead of anything else. Like other dogwoods, the Cornelian cherry will grow well in partial shade but tolerates full sun, too. Not particularly fussy, it is hardy from USDA Zones 5-8 and will reward you in late summer by producing juicy, tart red fruit that makes excellent jelly!

While the luxuriant prima donnas of the magnolia world reach their peak in April in this part of the world, the star magnolia, Magnolia stellata, upstages them by opening earlier, emitting a subtle fragrance and giving us a taste of blooms to come. The slender petals festoon the compact trees and brighten up shady corners of the early spring garden. Before they open, the buds resemble softly-furred and silver pussy willow. While most magnolias prefer well drained, slightly acidic soil, star magnolia is adaptable and will tolerate alkaline and moist soils. They are hardy from USDA Zones 5-9.

While the better known Viburnum tomentosum "Mohawk" will start to bloom later in March, accompanied by its well known scent, the more unusual and tongue-twisting Viburnum x bodnantense "Dawn" is a plant that stops passersby in their tracks. Known as a winter bloomer, its rose-tinted, tubular flowers appear while winter's grip still paralyses most plants. As the buds open and the air warms, its fruity scent increases, inviting a closer look. Viburnum x bodnantense "Dawn" will grow well in sun and partial shade, but it should be protected from wind in the lower parts of its USDA range of Zones 5b-9.

Of course the list of flowering trees and shrubs for March does not end there, but we have to stop somewhere. You may also like bright, flowering quince, highly perfumed Daphne odora, sweetly scented Mahonia...

What is your favorite flowering tree or shrub for March? Tell us why, and where you live.

For more gardening ideas, don't miss:
February Flowers
Spring Gardening: Get Your Garden Ready
Winter Gardening Myths: Busted!

Here's a video about cleaning up your spring garden.



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