Robert Bishop 
Frederick County Master Gardener Program

The following tips come from the Maryland Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center's website which is listed at the end of this article.

Soil- This is a good time to have your soil tested by the University's Soil Testing Lab. Request a soil test kit from the Home and Garden Information Center or your county/city Maryland Cooperative Extension office. There is a $5.00 fee for a basic soil test. Be prepared to raise soil pH with lime or lower soil pH with iron sulfate this spring according to the written recommendations you receive. Bare soil is prone to erosion and should be covered with mulch, cover crops, groundcovers or turf. Poor, compacted soils can be improved through the generous addition of organic matter. This spring, spade or till in a 6-8 inch layer of leaf compost or well-rotted manure.

Mulch- Shredded leaves make an excellent mulch and are easy to come by. Keep wood mulches away from the house. Mulches should be applied only 1-2 inches deep around ornamental plants and kept away from shrub and tree trunks. Mature trees do not benefit from being mulched, except to keep mowers away from the trunk.

Lawns- Remove leaves and other debris. If you are not re-seeding, select any pre-emergent crabgrass herbicide and apply it between March 15 and April 15. If you did not have a crabgrass problem last year there is no need to use a crabgrass herbicide this year. Small patches of crabgrass can be controlled during the growing season by pulling it out by hand or by applying a post-emergent herbicide as a spot treatment. You can also use a broadleaf herbicide to spot treat broadleaf weeds.

Pick up and discard dog droppings from turf areas. The droppings will burn grass plants if left for an extended period of time.

It is not a good idea to apply fertilizer to cool season turf in the spring unless your turf is weak and thin or if you did not fertilize this past fall. Fertilizing in the spring encourages rapid succulent growth that is more susceptible to attack by insects and disease. Keeping the soil pH in the 6.0 - 7.0 range is very important in maintaining healthy turf. Agricultural limestone can be applied to raise soil pH. Pelletized lime is slightly more expensive than ground limestone but is easier to apply.

Flowers- Now is the time to recall last season's problems and successes as you select new plants for your garden, look for improved varieties with disease resistance or lower maintenance requirements. Specific catalog terms, such as self-branching, free flowering, long blooming or heat and drought tolerant, indicate plants that may require fewer maintenance chores like pruning, deadheading, staking and watering. Well maintained, healthy, unstressed plants are less susceptible to insect and disease problems, which may require pesticide applications. Choosing disease resistant, low maintenance plants that will thrive in the existing light and soil conditions of your garden may result in far less need for pesticide use in 2001.

Shrubs- Prune out winter burn damage on hollies and other evergreen shrubs. Remove shrub branches broken by winter weather, prune out dead or damaged branches and make any necessary cosmetic cuts. Prune winter damaged canes of non-climbing roses back to healthy wood. Heavy pruning of healthy twigs and branches of spring flowering shrubs at this time will reduce the number of blooms. Prunings of spring flowering shrubs can be brought indoors and placed in water to force early blooms. Remove bagworm bags from evergreen shrubs. The bags contain hundreds of eggs, which will hatch out in the spring. Discard or destroy the bags- don't just leave them on the ground. Shrubs that have had scale problems can be sprayed with a dormant rate (4%)of ultra-fine horticultural oil. Do not spray if temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing within 24 hours.

The tiny reddish brown eggs of spruce spider mites can be seen with a hand lens on the twigs and needles of spruce at this time. If you notice signs of this pest, apply an ultra-fine horticultural oil spray, which will smother and kill the eggs. This is a great time to plant, move, and re-plant shrubs.

Trees- Gypsy moth populations are on the rise and may reach damaging levels in some parts of Maryland this year. You can reduce gypsy moth numbers by removing and destroying the tan colored, felt-like, 1½ inch long egg masses. They can be found on tree bark, firewood, lawn furniture and other outdoor structures and scraped off wherever found. 

Remove and destroy bagworm bags from affected trees- principally on evergreens. The bags contain hundreds of eggs that will hatch out and feed next spring. Eastern tent caterpillar egg masses resemble black Styrofoam and are most often located on the ends of wild cherry trees; they will also feed on plum and crabapple trees. Clip them off with pole pruners and throw them in the trash. The fuzzy, tan-colored, capsule-shaped pupal cases you find on wooden structures contain Eastern tent caterpillar pupae.

Trees can be pruned now. Remove dead, diseased branches and make any necessary cosmetic cuts. Remove broken branches and make pruning cuts back to healthy wood. Avoid planting Bradford pear, silver maple, willow and other trees with weak, brittle wood.

Vegetables- Try to rotate crops and be prepared to succession plant throughout the season. That means that a new crop should be seeded or transplanted in an area vacated by a crop that has is overly mature, has stopped producing, or is badly damaged. Potatoes, onion sets, onion seedlings and peas can be planted as soon as the soil can be lightly worked. Garlic cloves can still be planted in deep, fertile soil but the bulbs will not grow as large as those of fall-planted garlic.

You can start sowing seeds of spinach, lettuce, kale, mustard, sorrel, corn salad and other greens indoors under fluorescent tubes. These plants will be ready to transplant outdoors in 2-3 weeks and should be protected by a cold frame or floating row cover. Or you could direct seed these crops now in loose, fertile garden soil cover with a cold frame or under a floating row cover. Consider purchasing some floating row cover material to protect crops against insects and promote early growth. Floating row covers are made from a spun-bound polyester material and are available from mail-order seed and garden supply companies.

This is also a good time to divide over-grown rhubarb plants and top dress with a balanced fertilizer or well-rotted farm manure. Weeds in asparagus and rhubarb beds can become difficult to control. It is always best to hand-pull weeds or cut them off cleanly at the soil line with a small, sharp hoe. Be careful not to cut into crowns or emerging spears. All asparagus foliage should be cut down and composted at this time.

Fruit- Now is a good time to select and order fruit plants from reputable mail order companies. Select recommended, disease resistant varieties when possible and be sure you indicate a desired shipping date. For apple trees, be sure you know the exact rootstock you are ordering.

Dormant oil sprays are very effective at reducing populations of some tree fruit pests like, aphids, mites and scale insects. If you've had problems with these pests, spray trees thoroughly with a dormant oil spray before bud break, making sure that temperatures are expected to remain above 32 degrees F. for the 24 hour period after spraying. It is only necessary to spray dormant oil one time. Do not spray dormant oil within 10 days of using a sulfur-containing spray.

Liquid lime sulfur is a safe and inexpensive material that can be sprayed on raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry plants prior to bud swell to prevent cane diseases. It should also be applied to peach trees when buds begin to swell but before green tissue is visible to help prevent peach leaf curl disease. Apply to plum trees at bud swell to prevent plum pockets disease. Prune out the dead raspberry and blackberry canes that fruited this past summer.

Fireblight damage on apples and pears should be pruned out during the coldest periods in December or January. This will lessen the chance of spreading this bacterial infection. Bordeaux mix can be applied to apple and pear trees prior to bud swell to reduce the incidence of fireblight. Prune small fruits and tree fruits when weather permits, but wait until March or bud break to prune peach trees.

If you experienced poor growth in blueberries this season have your soil tested and amend your soil accordingly. Maintain mulches around small fruit plantings unless field mice are observed feeding.