Checklist

• Fill outdoor containers with fresh potting soil, then plant cold-tolerant pansies and violas.
• Be patient waiting for signs of life from any perennial notoriously slow to sprout, such as butterfly milkweed and hardy hibiscus (both winter-hardy in Zones 4 through 6).
• In Zones 2 and 3, order some of the colorful plants that can survive bitter-cold winters. Consider for spring planting: bergenia, bunchberry, columbine, lady's mantle, leopardsbane, maidenhair fern, paxistima, potentilla, rugosa rose, and snow-in-summer.
• Remove winter wrap from tree trunks. Also loosen any ties on tree stakes, and remove stakes as soon as possible.
• In Zones 4 through 6, dig and divide chrysanthemums early this month. Delay this chore in Zones 2 and 3 until nighttime temperatures remain above 20 degrees. When you separate vigorous young mum shoots, discard the old, woody centers.
• Feed roses with slow-release or organic fertilizer.
  In Zones 4 and 5, postpone pruning butterfly bush until you see new sprouts at the base, then cut the shrub back to near the ground. In Zone 6, where branches often survive the winter, cut butterfly bush back to the ground, anyway, for a better-looking shrub.
• Early this month in Zones 5 and 6, plant a tomato outside with a Wall-o-Water or other form of frost protection. Wait until mid-month in Zone 4, and the end of the month in Zone 2 or 3.
• Speed sprouting of parsley and beet seeds by soaking them overnight before planting.
• Remove bagworms from arborvitae or other evergreens this spring before the eggs in the bags hatch.

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