Planting:

• Finish planting Bare-Roots plants. Don’t wait until they leaf out. Use Garden & Bloome Soil Building Compost.
  
  
• Continue to plant cool season vegetables such as beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, endive, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, peas, potatoes (white) radishes, rutabagas and turnips.
  
  
• Plant dormant crowns of artichoke, asparagus and rhubarb.
  
  
• It is still too early to plant warm season vegetables, but you can start planting seeds for later transplant. Use high quality STOVER Seeds for a great crop this spring. (see Manager's Corner).
  
  
• Plant azaleas & camellias this month. They are best panted while in bloom. Plant them in soil that provides good drainage and afternoon shade. Be sure to check the tag for your specific varieties planting needs. Consider using Liquinox Vitamin B-1 during transplant to avoid transplant shock.
  
  
• Plant Chinese magnolias, gerberas, gladioli and lilies of the valley
  
  
• If you haven’t done so already, plant rose varieties such as hybrid teas and climbers.
  
  
• Add some herbs to your garden or plant them in a pot. You can plant aloe, parsley, dill, borage, calendula, rosemary and sage now.
  
  
• Plant California Native Plants. Great California Native Plants
  
  
• It is still a good time to plant summer blooming bulbs. These varieties include baboon flower, canna, caladium, calla lily, crocosmia, dahlia, gladiolus, gloxinia, homeria, laitris, lilies, nerine, ranunculus, tigridia, tuberose, and tuberous begonias.

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Feeding:

• Feed Roses, Flowers and Shrubs with Bayer Advanced 2-in-1 Rose & Flower Care, a combination granular fertilizer with insect control, or Bayer Advanced All-in-One, a liquid combining fertilizer, insect and fungal control. Top-dress the soil with Worm Gold Plus, adding John and Bob’s Soil Optimizer to stimulate organic activity. In addition, for Roses, adding Epsom Salts will help with basal breaks, forming new canes on older rose bushes.
  
  
• If you live near the coast or other frost-free area, start fertilizing your avocados this month. If you live inland, wait until March to avoid frost damage. Use Dr. Earth Organic Fruit Tree Fertilizer plus Citrus & Avocado (organic) or Best Triple 15 (systemic) for larger areas.
  
  
• Continue to feed citrus in coastal zones, berries and grapes. Dr Earth Fruit Tree Fertilizer would be a good organic choice for these as well.
  
  
• Feed fruit trees with a nitrogen fertilizer when new growth begins.
  
  
• Feed shrubs, ground covers and trees with Best Triple 15
  
  
• Fertilize azaleas, camellias and gardenias with slow release Lilly Miller Rhododendron Evergreen & Azalea Food 10-5-4, which contains Cottonseed Meal for these acid lovers or Dr. Earth Rhododendron Azalea & Camellia 4-5-4 Fertilizer.
  
  
• Feed lawns with Best Nitra King 19-4-4 for green, healthy grass and follow up with Green Light Crabgrass Preventer for control of broadleaf weeds. It stops weed seed from sprouting.
  For an all-in-one, quick and easy fertilizer and weed killer use Best Turf Supreme 16-6-8 with Trimec. This amazing product fertilizes and kills select broadleaf weeds in turf.

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Garden Maintenance:

• It’s not too late to prune your Roses and Fruit Trees if you haven’t done so already. Use Monterey Liqui-Cop mixed with Lilly Miller Superior Type Spray Oil to prevent Peach Leaf Curl, insects and diseases. Backpack and Hand Sprayers make application easy.
  
  
• Now is a good time to clean up your citrus and take steps to prevent citrus pests.
  
  
• Use Garden & Bloome Soil Building Compost for planting all bare root fruit trees, shrubs, roses & landscape plants.
  
  
• In flower beds use the Flexrake Hula-Ho to first clean up weeds, followed by applications of Granular Green Light Amaze. Preventing weeds saves many hours of labor spent in removing them later.
  
  
• Control winter weeds with Roundup ProMax or Roundup Quick Pro. Winter rains will encourage rapid nuisance weed growth. Both products are rainfast in one hour. NEW LOWER PRICES! See our specials
  
  
• Looking for a natural way to prevent weeds? DeWitt Weed Barrier Landscape Fabric prevents weeds without chemicals. It still allows air, water and nutrients to go through.
  
  
• Finish pruning of deciduous fruit trees and roses. Remove crossing branches and dead wood. Clean up all leaf litter which can harbor insects and disease. Replace old worn tools with Corona Pruning Tools.
  
  
• Prune fuchsias and begonias. Hard pruning now will result in shapelier plans later in the season. Fuchsia only bloom on new wood, therefore they need to be cut back annually to produce new growth.
  
  
• Use Wilco Gopher Bait to rid your garden of gophers. These pests cause much damage, eating roots from lawns, shrubs and ground covers.
  
  
• Make sure to secure any areas that may be susceptible to rain and wind damage. Use Erosion Control products such as straw wattles & straw mats to prepare areas that are likely to erode.