t's warm enough now to plant warm season grasses, including St. Augustine, bermuda, buffalo grass and zoysia. Now is also the time to plant hot-weather annuals, including lantana, gomphrena, copper plants, moss rose, firebush, Dahlberg daisy and purple fountain grass. Tropical annuals can be planted in beds or containers now. Try Mexican heather, cuphea, hibiscus, bougainvillea, pentas and esperanza yellow bells. It is also time to transplant summer and fall perennials.

For larger, better-quality fruit on peaches, apricots and plums, thin the fruits to 5 to 6 inches apart on the branches. Prune spring flowering shrubs and vines to shape them once they have finished blooming. Prune climbing roses and once-bloomed antique roses to keep a good shape and reduce overall height.

Pinch off old blossoms on spring-flowering annuals such as pansies, snapdragons and stocks to prolong the flowering season. Allow foliage of spring-flowering bulbs to mature and die back before removing. Pinch back the terminal growth on newly planted annual and perennial plants. This will result in shorter, more compact, well branched plants with more flowers.

Plants in containers and hanging baskets should be fertilized with a complete, balanced fertilizer such as compost which is for sale at the Big Spring Compost Facility located at 3201 Perimeter Road. If you just have to use a commercial fertilizer, be sure to water the plants first.

Be sure to do a soil test prior to fertilizing turf grasses; it can save you money and give you a better lawn. Most lawns in our area will need a high nitrogen fertilizer. Soils highly alkaline will also need an application of iron. Trees, shrubs, vines and groundcovers may need to be fertilized at this time also.

Compost is safe to use on most any plant at any time but read and follow directions on any commercial fertilizer. Weed and Feed type fertilizers are not for use around desirable plants other than turf grasses. To prevent burning, water thoroughly after fertilizing.

If you are building or extending any garden beds, now is a good time to add a watering system. There are advantages to each type of system — hose bibb, pop-ups, drip and soaker. The hose bibb system entails just extending the water line to a nearby location that allows you to easily reach the bed with a garden hose. Pop-up systems are somewhat more involved to design properly and might best be left to a professional. The drip and soaker systems are simple to layout and install and are rather easy to change as you add or move plants.

I am opposed to the automatic control timers only because they tend to replace the hands of the gardener. There is a lot of truth to the old saying that "The best fertilizer is the footsteps of the farmer." Having to walk out to turn the water on can allow you to see a minor problem that could have been missed if the timer was expected to do the work.

I highly recommend drip or soaker systems over the others because the water is desired in the ground for the plants to use and that is where the drip systems and soaker hoses put it. The other systems tend to involve spraying water through the air. The longer the water stays in contact with the air, the more is lost to evaporation. Reducing evaporation is the whole point to Xeric gardening, whether done by choosing adapted plants or by using thick mulch and drip watering.

For more information, call Walter Ward at (432) 935-6455 or visit the Howard County Master Gardeners Web site at www.howardcountymastergardener.org