You can start marigold seeds
indoors before planting outside.

Zone Maps and More -- As a rule of thumb, start most seeds six to eight weeks before your region's last frost date. So that means starting tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, cosmos, and others in the next few weeks. Get a general idea of your last average frost date from our map, but to be sure, give any local garden center a quick call.

Zone Maps

Start Seeds Indoors

Prune Trees and Shrubs -- On those occasional nice days this month and next, take the opportunity to prune trees and prune shrubs. Be careful with flowering trees and shrubs -- you don't want to trim off developing buds. As a rule of thumb, prune flowering trees and shrubs within a month or so after they flower. And wait on oaks and walnuts. They should be pruned in July to avoid wilt diseases.

Pruning Trees

Pruning Shrubs

• On those same nice days, go outside and check on your perennials. Temperature extremes of highs and lows tend to create frost heave and some shallow-rooted plants are slightly uprooted. Press them down firmly with your foot, something old-timers call "the February stomp."

Storing Bulbs -- Check on any stored plant roots or corms, such as dahlias, tuberous begonias, cannas, or glads, for shriveling or decay. Throw out any that are damaged.

Storing Bulbs

Houseplant Basics -- Houseplant growth this month continues to be slow, so don't fertilize and keep watering to a minimum. For more information, check out our houseplant basics.

Houseplant Basics

Forced Bulbs -- Check any bulbs forced last fall. As a rule of thumb, when the foliage is about an inch high, it's time to take them out of the cold spot and into the light and warmth.

Forced Bulbs

• Before the spring rush, take the lawn mower in for a tune-up and blade-sharpening. (A great tip is to keep an extra mower blade. They need to be sharpened three or four times during the growing season, so you can always have one on hand while the other is at the shop, getting sharpened.) Also check on oil changes and filter changes/cleanings as needed.
• Consider building a cold frame. You'll be able to plant radishes, spinach, lettuce and other cool-season crops in it in March or April.
• Cut branches from forsythia, quince, redbud, pussy willows, and other spring-blooming shrubs and trees to force indoors. Simply cut branches of flowering woody plants once you can spot the tiny developing buds. Submerge the branches in cold water (like the tub) for a couple of hours or up to a full day. Then stick just the ends in a bucket of cold water about a foot deep for a week in a cool (no warmer than 60 degrees F) spot. Arrange in a vase, put in a warm room, and watch the buds open over the next few days.

Bird Feeding -- If you've been feeding birds, continue to do so. Birds become reliant on certain food supplies in the fall so if that supply disappears, they can go hungry.

Bird Feeding

Garden Projects -- Now is an excellent time to start some of those garden hammer-and-nail projects you've been wanting to do -- windowboxes, planters, arbors, and more. Check out BHG.com for a list of dozens of garden projects.

Garden Projects

Pretty Plants -- Tuberous begonias are a colorful choice for pots, planters, and windowboxes in the shade. You can buy them in pots later on, but save money and get better selection by buying them as tubers and starting them now indoors. Plant the tubers stem side up in potting soil and keep evenly moist. Grow in your sunniest window indoors and plant outdoors once danger of frost has passed. Then, if you're really thrifty, save the tubers from year to year.

Storing Tender Bulbs