Late Winter Tips

For Your Lawn

Rake up winter debris and matted turf. Apply a lawn fertilizer with pre-emergent control to keep crabgrass in check.

Test soil for pH and nutrient content.

For Your Garden Beds

Clean up and prepare garden beds. Till when soil is workable and amend with organic material.

Start annual flowers and vegetables indoors. Transplant when all danger of frost has passed.

Feed daffodils and tulips with 5-10-5 or similar fertilizer when plants reach 4 to 5 inches in height.

Plant cool-weather vegetables as soon as soil can be worked.

For Your Trees and Shrubs

Prune summer- and fall-blooming shrubs and trees while plants are still dormant. Spring-flowering shrubs, such as lilac, forsythia, and early-season azaleas, should be pruned immediately after flowering, before next year's buds have set.

Fertilize all trees and shrubs after the ground has thawed.

Control scale on trees and shrubs with application of dormant oil spray. Do not apply if freezing temperatures are expected or if plants are not dormant.