Plant bare root, balled and burlapped, balled and potted, and container-grown ornamental landscape plants. Bare root plants should be dormant. Spring has become a traditional time for planting because environmental conditions favor planting. Soil and air temperatures should be above freezing. Plants adapt readily to the intensity of spring sunlight and are less likely to be stressed by dry weather.

Transplanting

Dig plants that were root pruned in the fall. Deciduous plants may be moved bare root before bud break, but broadleaf and narrowleaf evergreens should be moved balled and burlapped or balled and potted. Moving may be done whenever soil and air temperatures are above freezing. Root prune plants that you intend to move in September or October.

Pruning

Thin and rejuvenate overgrown or unhealthy deciduous plants to direct and control new growth.

Fertilizing

Fertilizer may be broadcast around ornamental landscape plants as the ground begins to thaw.

Watering

Irrigate newly planted, actively growing ornamentals any time there is less than 1 inch of weekly rainfall. Apply water at the rate of 1 quart per square foot of planting area on poorly drained soils. On well drained soils, use a half-gallon of water per square foot. Newly planted ornamentals not yet actively growing can be injured by overwatering.

Plant protection

For newly planted ornamentals, you may apply a pre-emergence herbicide before spreading a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch over the soil in the bed or around trees. Level winter mulch and use the excess to thicken thin spots in beds and around trees for a summer mulch to conserve moisture and prevent weed seed germination.

Rodent tree trunk guards, rose cones and fabric wind screens around evergreens should be removed when freezing temperatures are no longer a threat.

Pest control

Warning! Not all formulations of all recommended pesticides are labeled for all suggested uses. Buy formulations that are labeled for the specific pest problem. Follow all pesticide label directions and precautions.

When a particular pest becomes active depends on the weather conditions in your area. The pest management guide gives general guidelines for a broad geographic area. Depending on your location, a particular pest may appear early or late within the month(s) in which the pest is listed.
 
 

Pest	Common Hosts	Controls
Insects
adelgids	spruce	Dursban, lindane, malathion, Sevin
aphids	most ornamentals	Diazinon, Orthene, malathion, Sevin, superior oil
leaf miners	arborvitae, birch, hawthorn, holly, spruce	Diazinon, Orthene, Sevin
mealybugs	taxus	malathion, Orthene, superior oil
scales	ash, euonymus, fruit trees, hackberry, hawthorn, hemlock, juniper, lilac, linden, maple, mountain ash, oak, pachysandra, pine, poplar, rose, spruce, willow	Orthene, malathion, Sevin, superior oil
tent caterpillars	crabapple, flowering & wild cherry, fruit trees	Orthene, Sevin
Diseases
anthracnose	ash, maple, oak, sycamore	Cleary's 3336, Captan
black knot	fruiting & ornamental plum	Cleary's 3336, Captan
Botrytis blight	rose	Cleary's 3336, Captan
canker & rot	most ornamentals	Prune out infected plant parts.
crown gall	euonymus, rose	Destroy infected plants.
fire blight	cotoneaster, crabapple, fruit trees, hawthorn, mountain ash, pyracantha	Prune out infected plant parts.
leaf spot	most ornamentals	fixed copper
powdery mildew	most ornamentals	Cleary's 3336, sulfur
rust	apple, crabapple, hawthorn, juniper, rose	Ferbam,
scab	crabapple, fruit trees, mountain ash, pyracantha	Cleary's 3336, Captan, Daconil
twig blight	juniper	Cleary's 3336
wetwood	elm, maple	no effective chemical or cultural control
Weeds
many germinating annual & perennial weed seeds	many ornamentals	Eptam, Princep, Treflan