Plant
• Warm season annuals: zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, celosia, purple fountain grass, impatiens and begonias.
• Hot-weather favorites: lantanas, copper plant, firebush, tropical hibiscus, mandevilla, pentas, purslane and caladiums once night temperatures are in the 60s.
• Warm-season vegetables including tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers, melons, squash and corn 1 to 2 weeks after last freeze.
• New turf from sod. Wait for soils to warm before planting seed – late April in most regions.
• Perennials from 6-inch and 1-gallon nursery pots, Plant in well prepared beds.
• Roses, from 2- and 3-gallon pots. Choose adapted varieties including Texas A&M’s EarthKind selections.
Prune
• Spring-blooming vines and shrubs: Carolina Jessamine, wisteria, climbing roses, flowering quince, bridal wreath, forsythia, weigela, azaleas and camellias after they finish flowering to restore good form.
• Mow lawn frequently to keep it dense and spreading, better able to crowd out weeds.
• Tip-prune (pinch) coleus, copper plants, begonias, fall asters, mums, Mexican bush sage and other leggy annuals and perennials to keep them compact.
• Remove tips from new shoots of blackberries at 30 to 36 inches to encourage side branching, fuller and shorter plants.
Fertilize
• Trees, shrubs, vines and groundcovers. Apply high-nitrogen plant food, preferably in slow release form. Test soil every 2 or 3 years to monitor accumulations of phosphorus and, if indicated, use same type of high nitrogen fertilizer on turfgrass.