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Prep warm-season plants for May

It is still too early for warm-season plants to go outside. It is time, however, to get them ready. Here are some tips.

DENVER — It won't be long before our housebound flowers can go outside. I keep an eye on the forecast to make sure it's safe to bring them outdoors. It could be mid-May before it's warm enough at night for them. 

In the meantime, we can groom and feed them to make sure they're ready for planting.

I save hundreds and hundreds of tender plants each fall. After their winter exile indoors, they need to be cleaned up and pinched back. Most plant will benefit greatly by being pruned. I pinch back geraniums, salvias, coleus and hibiscus. Wax begonias get a haircut to remove lanky growth. This treatment encourages bushy, sturdy growth. 

Start feeding these plants with a standard fertilizer. You'll see dramatic results over the next three or four weeks.

If your geraniums got too leggy, prune them back and use the cuttings to start new plants. Use a rooting powder brushed on the bottoms of the stems. Then, insert the cuttings in moist soil. Cover the cuttings with a plastic dome and put them in a bright place but without direct sun. They'll root within several weeks and you'll have brand-new, free plants. 

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