Apply systemic insecticides like Bayer Rose and Flower Care to annuals, perennials, and flowering shrubs to control aphids and keep their populations from exploding.|

Fertilize spring blooming bulbs with a “bloom booster” fertilizer once they are done flowering. That is when they begin storing nutrients for next year’s flowers. Do not cut off dying foliage until it is completely brown.

Keep up with the weeds! Spend a few minutes several days a week weeding and you will have better success at preventing them from going to seed.

Towards the end of the month you can begin moving houseplants back outdoors. This is the perfect time to repot them if they’ve grown pot-bound. Begin fertilizing them with a water soluble fertilizer every 2 weeks.

Avoid fertilizing warm season lawns (bermuda, zoysia, centipeded) until at least 50 percent green.

Spot spray for early-season broadleaf weeds in fescue with a selective herbicide containing 2,4-D such as Ortho Weed-B-Gon or Lesco 3-way.

A fall, evergreen hedge north of your home can cut heating bills by 34 percent in windswept regions or by 10% in sheltered areas. If your house is exposed to winter winds, this spring, consider establishing an evergreen planting for a windbreak.

Many gardeners plant annual and perennial flowers to attract hummingbirds. Some common trees visited by hummingbirds are buckeye, horse chestnut, catalpa, apple, crabapple, hawthorn, silk tree, redbud and tulip poplar. Shrubs include azalea, beauty bush, coralberry, honeysuckle, lilac, New Jersey tea, Siberian pea shrub and red weigela.

When pruning forsythia, do not shear as you would a hedge. It is best to thin out the old branches as close to the ground as possible. This should be done immediately after blooming.

When you are out shopping for annual flowers for your garden, look for plants with lots of unopened buds. Plants that bloom in the pack are often root bound and can be set back for several weeks after being transplanted. Plants not yet in bloom will actually bloom sooner, be better established and grow faster.

It's time to plant seed and transplants of your favorite warm-season vegetable crops after all danger of late frost has passed. The last frost usually occurs about April 15. However, don't plow your garden when the soil is wet as the soil will form clods that are difficult to break up and interfere with cultivation during the summer.

Keep tomatoes, peppers and other vegetable plants well-mulched to prevent soil erosion and weed growth as well as preventing soil-borne diseases from infecting the lower leaves.

Thin young fruits of apples, pears and peaches to insure larger, healthier fruit. Thin within 25 days of the peak bloom, leaving 4 to 6 inches between the fruit.

Peaches and plums are very susceptible to brown rot, so you may wish to start a disease-preventative spray program for these and other fruit plants at the petal fall stage.