Food is being manufactured and stored for next year's blooms. Mulch plants to reduce watering requirements, suppress weed growth and minimize soil temperature changes. Excellent mulches are pine straw, cypress mulch and pine bark. Divide and transplant older, large clumps of chrysanthemums in late March or early April. Failure to divide plants can result in weak, spindly growth with few flowers.
Coleus are great annual bedding plants for Louisiana's landscapes.
Try some of the newer sun-loving varieties. Fertilize shrubs in the spring. Use 1 to 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of landscape bed area. Watch for insect problems this spring. Lace bugs on azaleas and aphids or whiteflies on gardenias are common.