It’s March 1, time for gardeners to smile because spring is peeking around the corner.

It’s time to prune your roses, cutting them back to three to five strong canes. Knock Out and Flower Carpet roses can be easily pruned with hedge shears, taking all the canes back to about 12 inches above ground.

Despite the cold, daffodils are growing and showing color. They will be fine in this cold because daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs are smart … they grow when it’s warm and stop growing when it gets cold. To keep your spring bulbs cozy and warm, pull a little mulch around, not over them, and they will be OK.

Trees are also budding. Maples are the first to leaf out, putting on little shows of reddish new growth. Watch these … a parade of pinkish, reddish hues across the landscape, followed by greens and golds. Trees are magnificient creatures, something to cherish and save, not loath and take down.

March is a good time time to plant new trees, and shrubs, especially in our area. Early planting allows roots to establish themselves before summer’s heat and dry days settle in. Many local garden centers already have a decent stock of trees and shrubs, and trucks will be bringing more weekly.

If you want to plant a spring-flowering tree in your yard, choose something suitable to the environment in North East North Carolina & Hampton Roads. Good candidates include redbud, white fringe tree, Kousa dogwood, sweet bay magnolia, weeping cherry, saucer magnolia, flowering apricot and Japanese snowbell. Japanese maples, especially small weeping ones, make excellent specimen plants in your yard or a large container on the patio.

To plant your tree, dig a hole two to three times wider than the rootball and as a deep as the rootball. Planting a tree too deep is a leading cause of death because the roots suffocate. Loosen the rootball and remove any burlap before planting; tight, encircling rootballs do not reach into surrounding soil, thereby stagnating a tree’s growth.

Once the rootball is loosened, place the tree in the planting hole and shovel the soil you dug out back into the hole. Lightly tamp … don’t stomp or trample .. the soil to ensure there are no air pockets.

Water thoroughly, mixing a little fish emulsion in the water. Mulch with 2-3 inches of shredded hardwood mulch, but keep the mulch 1-2 inches away from the tree trunk. Staking a tree is not necessary unless it’s located in a very windy spot; remove stakes in about six months.

I hope you plant a new tree in your yard this spring. Trees give us oxygen to breathe, wildlife places to live and beauty for everyone to behold.