I'm one of the guilty ones that has a yard with more crabgrass in it than any other species of grass. Yes, I hate to admit that but it's true! I really notice this later in the summer when the fescue is slumping and the crabgrass has taken over. At that point, it is much too late to try to do anything about it. But, if you remember that you had a problem with crabgrass last summer, we approaching on the time of year to get it under control.

Crabgrass preventers do just that - they prevent crabgrass seed from developing into mature plants. Many people have somewhat of a foggy idea of how they work and assume they kill the weed seed or keep it from germinating. That is not the case. It prevents emergence.

Since preventers have no effect of existing crabgrass plants, it must be applied before germination. For our area, we need to apply preventers 

The proper time to prune deciduous shrubs (those that lose the their    leaves each winter) is based on when they flower. Deciduous shrubs are placed into three groups:

Shrubs that flower in the spring should not be pruned until immediately after flowering. Though pruning earlier will not harm the health of the plant, the flowering display will be reduced. Examples include forsythia, lilac and mock orange.

Shrubs that bloom on current seasons' growth or that do not produce ornamental flowers are best pruned in late winter to early spring. Examples include Rose-of-Sharon and some spirea.