It’s about that time to fertilize your lawn for green spring

Feed lawns: Fertilize your lawns around Thanksgiving Day. It is this feeding that stores up root reserves for earlier green-up next spring. Use a fertilizer containing nitrogen and potassium.

Ridding lawns of spurge and crabgrass: Dig or pull them to prevent seeds from dropping. There is no chemical to get rid of them now. In late February, apply a pre-emergent herbicide such as corn gluten to prevent weeds from germinating next season.

Don’t fertilize trees and shrubs: They grow very little, because they are conserving energy to ward off freezing temperatures. Feeding now makes them vulnerable to frost damage. Mid-February is a good time to kick-start them.

Stop tree hacking: The tree hackers are at it again, butchering mulberries back to stumps. Nothing is harder on trees than removing all of the growth. We are now seeing diseases brought on by severe pruning, and you can’t replace mulberries. Wait until trees shed their leaves to prune. In most cases, tree hackers are here today, gone tomorrow. Check out their credentials to avoid trouble later.

Dead pecan branches: I visited a majestic pecan tree that was severely cut back by a tree hacker because it extended into another person’s property. He left large extending stubs, and they died. I encouraged the homeowner to remove all stubs back to healthy crotches and keep it under control so she doesn’t have to radical prune again, and the plant will be OK.

Glistening pecan leaves: The sticky stuff is aphid honeydew. It creates a mess on patio floors and lawn furniture and is hard to remove. Wash the tree down or spray it with neem for control.

Green tomatoes: We can expect a frost anytime, so what do you do with green tomatoes? First, tomatoes ripen from the inside out, changing to a greenish-white and then red. These tomatoes will ripen in your home. For the rest of the green tomatoes, may I suggest making tomato bread? My wife substitutes the same amount of tomatoes she puts into making zucchini bread.

Knotty roots: As we near the end of the growing season, check vegetable roots for knotty growths when discarding plants. Nematodes cause these knots and will ruin next year’s garden, especially tomatoes. Use neem, an organic compound, to control them.

Growing veggies upstairs: You can grow anything on your patio in containers as long as there are five hours of sunlight. Start with good potting soil in containers that have drainage holes. Place a saucer under containers to trap excess water to avoid staining things. Keep the plants moist; water if the soil feels dry to the touch. If we have a cold spell, move them in for protection.

Planting garlic: Divide the bulb into divisions or cloves. Plant each clove with the flat base downward an inch and a half deep and two inches apart in rows about a foot apart. You’ll have good-sized bulbs next spring when tops begin dying.

Dividing red yuccas: They’re easy to divide. Lift the plant out of the ground and pull it apart, making clean cuts to separate the clump. Before replanting, allow the new transplant root cuts to “heal.”

Sow flowers: Try sowing forget-me-nots, California and Shirley poppies, bachelor’s button, larkspurs, sweet peas and Johnny-jump-ups now for color next spring. They’ll germinate early and produce a bounteous crop of flowers for you. Be different and sow seeds over your bulb beds. These blooms fill in the bare spots until the bulbs bloom, and they’ll keep on blooming after the bulbs fade.

Planting bulbs: There is still time to plant spring-flowering bulbs, but get them in soon. Remember, bulbs need all the cold weather they can get to thrive, and we don’t get that much.

Rogue roses: It’s time to get tough with roses you don’t like. Why stick with roses you don’t enjoy or that meet your standards? Plan to replant new roses before Valentine’s Day. Do not fertilize roses again until after you prune them in January.

Composting oleanders: All parts of oleanders are poisonous to people and pets if ingested. Be careful when letting your dog in a yard with oleanders, especially if he likes to chew. Ingestion of green or dried leaves or chewing on stems could cause serious consequences.

Linn Mills writes a garden column each Sunday. You can reach him at linn.mills@springspreserve.org or call him at 822-7754.