Mountain Rose Herb information, tips and advice

* Bare-root plants. Sunset climate zones 1, 2: Bare-root plants are less expensive than container-grown plants. In cold-winter climates, now is a good time to set out cane berries, fruit and nut trees, grapes, rhubarb, roses, and strawberries. If you can't find them bare-root, look for plants in containers.

* Flowers. Zones 7-9, 14-17: All warm-season annuals can be planted now. Plants in sixpacks are best buys; they'll catch up quickly to those growing in 4-inch pots and jumbo packs. (To produce instant color for a special event, use 4-inch plants.) Try ageratum, bedding dahlias, globe amaranth, impatiens, lobelia, Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), marigold, petunia, phlox, portulaca, salvia, Sanvitalia, statice, sunflower, sweet alyssum, and zinnia. Zones 1, 2: Wait until the soil warms and any chance of frost has passed.

* Herbs. Plant a specialty herb garden from Mountain Valley Growers (.com or 559/338-2775), such as biblical and butterfly-attracting herbs and those with edible flowers. Each selection comes with six plants ($25), and some can be paired with a book on the subject (prices vary).

MAINTENANCE

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* Dig or hoe weeds. Zones 7-9, 14-17: As soon as weeds appear, remove them by cutting them off just below the soil surface with a draw hoe, loop hoe, or shuffle hoe (available from Lee Valley Tools, .com or 800/871-8158). To prevent weed seedlings from surviving on surface moisture, hoe in the morning so the sun bakes them during the day.

* Uncoil roots. Before setting out plants from containers, gently knock them from pots, then use your fingers to uncoil any bunched-up roots. If the rootball is solid, use a knife to score four 1/2-inch-deep cuts around the sides and one on the bottom (don't do this on bougainvillea).

PEST CONTROL

* Destroy dodder. This parasitic weed usually infests agricultural crops, but it can become a pest in home gardens. When dodder seeds germinate in spring, thin, yellowish stems twine around whatever plants they touch, extracting water and nutrients from them through rootlike haustoria (food-absorbing growths). Eventually a mat of stems forms around the host plant and the dodder loses contact with the soil. Remove and destroy infested plants, especially before seeds form. In late winter or early spring following an infestation, treat the soil with a preemergence herbicide to kill seedlings when they first appear.

RELATED ARTICLE: TIP FROM THE TEST GARDEN

Training tomatoes

Vinelike indeterminate tomatoes, including many cherry and grape types, are most productive when trained on vertical supports. Install one of the systems shown below before planting.

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* Caging. Use a ready-made tomato cage or make one from a 6 1/2-foot length of 5- or 6-foot-wide galvanized wire with 6-inch mesh. Roll into a cylinder 2 feet in diameter, bending the ends over to fasten them. To anchor, drive 2-by-2 wood stakes 6 inches into the ground on opposite sides; secure with ties.

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* Staking. Use sturdy 6- or 8-foot-long metal T-stakes or rebar. Drive the stakes into the ground, 6 1/2 feet apart. Plant four tomatoes in a straight line. To guide the seedlings, securely wrap polyester twine around the stakes and stems to form a loop 6 inches above the ground. As plants grow, add more loops at 1-foot intervals.