Gardening Update: March 14, 2026

Soil moisture is still relatively good right now — plants haven't fully leafed out yet, so water demand remains low. But don't let that fool you. Year to date, Charlotte Douglas Airport has recorded only 4.6" of precipitation, and the US Drought Monitor currently classifies Mecklenburg County in severe to extreme drought. Once plants leaf out over the next few weeks and begin drawing heavily on soil water, without an increase in rain, moisture levels will likely drop quickly. If you have recently installed plantings, pay close attention now and be ready to start supplemental watering earlier than usual this year.

Spring weeds are emerging: annual bluegrass, corn speedwell, chickweed, wild garlic, and hairy bittercress are all showing up. Rather than pulling everything, consider trimming annuals at the soil line to prevent them from going to seed — particularly hairy bittercress, which has explosive pods that scatter seed quickly. Every annual weed that goes to seed adds to the seed bank in your soil, making future weeding harder; every one you catch before seed set depletes it. For perennial weeds like wild garlic, repeated trimming steadily depletes root energy over time.

This is one of the better planting windows of the year — despite low rainfall, we have ~ two months of mild weather ahead and soil temperatures are in the ideal range for root establishment. If you're planning to add plants, try to get them in the ground by the end of April.

Before any spring pruning on shrubs, check whether they bloom on old or new wood. For example, American beautyberry blooms on new wood and is safe to prune now before it leafs out, while oakleaf hydrangea blooms on old wood and should wait until early summer after it finishes flowering. When doing spring cleanup around established perennials, leave the leaf layer in place where you can. Perennials grow right through it, and it supports overwintering insects and feeds soil biology.

Recent Blog Posts

In my two most recent posts, I take a closer look at how gardens actually store carbon:

• Carbon Storage in the Garden: It Starts With Plants — The science behind how plants incorporate carbon into their tissues and why woody plants are more effective at long-term storage.

• The Other Carbon Story: Why Soil Matters as Much as the Plants Above It — Soil holds more carbon than all the world's above-ground plant biomass combined. This post looks at how the plant-soil microbiome partnership builds that underground carbon store over time.

Interesting Gardening Content

Growing Greener: Balancing Your Account in the Soil Seed Bank Thomas Christopher and Nathan Lambstrom discuss how the hidden reservoir of dormant seeds in your soil affects plant communities — and how to manage it to your advantage. The practical takeaway: every annual weed you let go to seed deposits more problem seeds into that bank; every plant you want to spread benefits from dropping its seed heads in your beds rather than the compost pile.

Growing Greener: The Missing Piece of Your Ecological Garden Liz Koziol, founder of MycoBloom, shares her research on mycorrhizal fungi and native plants — how fungal networks in healthy soil improve plant establishment, support soil health, and build the kind of biologically active growing environment that makes ecological gardens work. Good background that ties directly into the soil carbon post.

Mass Healthy Soils Guide A thorough, accessible soil management guide covering soil science basics, site analysis, amendment selection, protecting soil during construction, and long-term maintenance practices. Useful for every level of gardener.

NCSU: Garden Cleanup for Pollinators — Trim Perennial Stems in Their First Winter NC State researchers found that first-year stems aren't occupied by nesting bees over winter — the stems are still intact, with no openings bees can access. That makes right now an ideal time to cut last season's stems back to 18–24" and leave them standing. Those stubs become prime nesting habitat starting this spring, and should be left in place through next year, when they'll gradually fall apart after being used.

Upcoming Events

UNCC Botanical Gardens Spring Plant Sale — April 9–11 My go-to spring plant sale, with a great native plant selection and knowledgeable staff. Members get early access April 9 (noon–4pm). Open to all April 10–11.

Innovation Barn Native Plant Sale — April 18, noon–4pm 932 Seigle Ave, Charlotte. The Southern Piedmont Native Plant Society partners with Queen City Native Nursery, Byrd House Natives, Bring Back the Butterflies, and Constructive Plant Rescue — all excellent growers with plants you won't find at standard garden centers.

Trees Charlotte Tree Adoption Event — March 28, 8:30–10:30am Free trees for all Mecklenburg County residents. Registration opens March 23 at 10am — trees go fast. Consider making a donation to support this local non-profit.

Plant of the Month

Northern Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

Spicebush may be blooming in your garden right now — its tiny, sweetly fragrant yellow flowers appear along bare stems before leaves emerge, making it one of the earliest native shrubs to signal spring and an important early nectar source when little else is in bloom.

Once it leafs out, spicebush becomes a host plant for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly — arguably one of the showiest caterpillars in the garden, with its dramatic false eyespots. In fall, female plants produce bright red berries that are among the most nutritionally valuable fruits available to migratory songbirds.

Spicebush is dioecious — male and female flowers occur on separate plants, and plants typically don't flower until several years old, making it difficult to know the sex when purchasing. Planting at least three gives you a reasonable chance of getting both, which is required if you want berries. It thrives in part shade with moderate moisture.

It’s also highly deer resistant…what’s not to love!

What We're Up To

We're in the field for spring maintenance — weeding, selective cutbacks, dividing, and mulching. We've completed two new installations, are finalizing designs for spring projects, and starting on designs for fall. We still have some spring capacity for smaller, straightforward installs — a few shrubs added to an existing bed, or a small area with a simple plant list. If you have something like that in mind, feel free to reach out.