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WHAT TO PLANT
• Citrus—Plant several varieties to extend the harvest season. Most navel and Arizona sweets are ready to be picked from November through February; Valencias from February through May; grapefruit from late November through May; Ponderosa lemon and Mexican lime offer fruit year-round.
• Landscape plants—Finish transplanting trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers, perennials, ornamental grasses, cacti and succulents early in the month to give root systems time to develop before summer.
• Vegetables—Sow warm-season crops, including black-eyed peas, jicama, lima and snap beans, okra and peanuts. Sow seeds or set out transplants for cucumber, melon and squash.
• Herbs—Sow basil, epazote, garlic chives and rue. Transplant lavender, bay tree, lemon grass, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, salad burnet, santolina and thyme.
• Container-grown roses—Attend rose shows this month to get ideas on varieties and to ask experts for growing tips.
• Turf—Bermuda seed or sod can be planted when night temperatures remain above 65 degrees.
• Butterfly nectar—Provide hatching caterpillars with larval food plants to eat, including citrus, desert milkweed, desert senna, globe mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), honey mesquite, passion vine and Superstition mallow (Abutilon palmeri). Supply nectar for butterflies with plantings of coreopsis, gaillardia, lantana, mint, rosemary, salvia, tithonia, verbena and zinnia.

GARDEN MAINTENANCE
• Monitor agaves—Stomp on agave snout weevils often found at the bases of agaves in spring. The pests are black, about 1 inch long with a long snout, and they transmit disease among these plants.
• Control prickly pear cacti—As needed, remove pads while they are small and tender.
• Fertilize citrus—Apply one-third of an established tree’s annual nitrogen requirement this month or next.
• Maintain roses—Feed with a liquid fertilizer every two weeks during spring’s peak bloom period. Layer organic mulch around shrubs at a depth of 2 inches to maintain soil moisture. Keep mulch several inches away from the stem to prevent disease from spreading.
• Transition lawns—In preparation for summer Bermuda grass, continue mowing winter ryegrass gradually lower until it is a half-inch tall through late May.
• Monitor tomato and pepper plants—Soil should be moist but not wet, to a depth of 1 foot. Apply a side dressing of nitrogen. Layer fresh mulch to maintain moisture and consistent soil temperature. Hand-pick any tomato hornworms (large green caterpillars) that chew foliage.