As average temperatures warm, lawns in the area are finally turning green and growing. It may seem like the ideal time to make the first application of spring fertilizer. But, it is best to delay until early May, after you have cut the grass a few times.

A delay of spring fertilization is recommended for several reasons. First, it allows grass plants to use nutrient reserves stored through the winter. This is important as it maximizes the effect of fertilizer applied in the fall. Fertilizer applied in the fall will easily sustain plants through four to six weeks of early spring growth.

Also if lawns are fertilized too early, top growth is promoted at the expense of root growth. A delay in fertilizing will cause the turf to root more deeply in the spring, creating a larger and more established root system. This allows better tolerance to the rigors of summer drought, potential grub feeding and diseases.

Another good reason to delay fertilization is to reduce spring foliar diseases. When grass grows too lushly under cool, rainy weather, disease occurrence is increased—and it weakens the turf.

Lastly, by delaying fertilization until early May, more nutrients are available through the summer months. It is important to use a slow release formulation that will evenly supply nutrients, with less burn potential, as the summer season progresses.

Spring lawn fertilization is important to ensure good growth and quality appearance through the summer. But in southern Illinois, it is best to delay this application until the first week or two of May. Additional applications can be made in early September, and a winterizer can be applied in late November for a healthy, beautiful lawn.

For more complete information, download our Spring Lawn Care Guide from the You and Your Family website, http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/regions/SIfamily/more.htm. Click on Tip of the Month. If you don't have internet access, contact the U of I Extension office for a copy

Heucheras, or coral bells, are a group of plants that are native to New England up to western Canada and down into Mexico. In general, they tend to grow in tight mounds of foliage and produce small green to white flowers in summer. Gardeners now know heucheras as plants with incredibly colorful foliage. But when heucheras were first introduced to the gardening public, you could get any color of heuchera you wanted so long as it had green leaves.

How times have changed! With the help of dedicated plant breeders, this group of plants has come a long way.

The heuchera revolution started when new forms were introduced in the 1990s. Hybrids between the old standard 'Palace Purple' and 'Dale's Selection' provided the basis for the introduction of many strikingly beautiful cultivars that offered color and variegation not seen in the original species.

Heuchera were also plants that tended to prefer shaded, cooler gardens. Here is where the most dramatic work in heucheras has come with the introduction of heucheras that can withstand more sun, heat, and humidity–yet still look good.

Enter Heuchera villosa. This heuchera is a native species found in the Southeast. Compared to other heuchera, it is larger with rounded leaves resembling maple foliage, later to bloom, tolerant of more heat and humidity, and does well in dappled shade to sun.

By combining some of villosa's outstanding traits with other heuchera, breeders have been able to give the gardening world a whole new group of heucheras. These heuchera hold up well to heat and humidity and are often very large plants with very large leaves. These new villosa hybrids tolerate a wider range of soil conditions and tolerate heavier soils and root competition. They still won't tolerate poorly drained soils though.

Here are a few heucheras that have villosa blood in them:

'Beaujolais' has huge burgundy leaves with a touch of silver and deep purple veins. It is incredibly vigorous and large. It produces near-white flowers in summer.

'Georgia Peach' is a heat- and humidity-tolerant variety. It has huge peach-colored leaves with silver blotches. It grows to about 24 inches wide.

'Pistache' is a robust grower with large lime green to chartreuse yellow foliage. 'Pistache' is one of the more stable yellow varieties as it does not tend to fade in the sun.

'Tiramisu' is a compact grower. The foliage in both spring and fall is chartreuse with brick red coloration radiating out from the center of the leaf. In summer, the leaves lighten to chartreuse with a silver tone.

'Sparking Burgundy' has giant 6-inch leaves that are a clear rose-burgundy color. It produces white flowers in the summer; as fall approaches, the leaves turn a dark, rich, red wine color.

'Crème Brulee' is a vigorous grower even in full sun. Peachy orange leaves are produced on 18-inch-wide plants. In summer, creamy yellow flowers appear.

While the villosa hybrids bring a more vigorous, heat-tolerant plant to the garden, they still need some care if planted in sunnier locations. Here they need a bit more moisture to look their best and maybe a little protection from mid-day sun.

In general, heucheras do best in soils that are well amended with organic matter and are well drained. Heuchera have a fine fibrous root system that does not fare too well in wet soils, especially during the winter. Wet winter soils also lead to frost heaving.

The alternate freezing and thawing cycles literally push the plant out of the ground. To combat this, pick a well-drained site and, in the fall, put down a layer of compost around the plants. In the spring, if heaving has occurred, new roots will grow into the compost.

Another way to be sure you don't lose your plants after a hard winter is to just 'reset' them. In the spring when the soil can be worked, dig up the plant and re-plant a bit deeper. This covers the roots and also allows the stem to produce additional roots.

In addition to offering color to the garden, heucheras can be planted in the vicinity of trees and shrubs and compete with the roots. They also will survive and grow under walnut trees and are remarkably salt tolerant, making them useful along walkways where deicing salt is used.

The heuchera revolution is on, much the same way hosta took the gardening world by storm. And, the villosa hybrids are making it happen.

Carnivorous, or meat-eating, plants are incredible and unusual. Colors, sizes, prey, and mode of predatory action of these unique plants vary greatly, and different species can be found all over the world and in the United States.

Simply put, a carnivorous plant is one that captures and digests animals, usually insects and other small arthropods. But, some can feed on small animals such as lizards, mice, and even birds.

Most people think of the Venus Fly Trap when they think of carnivorous plants. Venus Fly Traps, Dionaea muscipula, are native to wet, boggy areas of North and South Carolina. The plant has trigger-traps that snap shut when small hairs inside the trap are disturbed. Once trapped, much of the insect is broken down and used as nutrition by the Venus Fly Trap.

Why do Venus Fly Traps and other carnivorous plants eat small animals?

Most carnivorous plants grow in wet, boggy areas that tend to be acidic and low in nutrients for adequate plant growth. Carnivorous plants have adapted and overcome the lack of nutrients by developing special features for feeding on insects and other small animals.

These small insects and other critters provide necessary nutrients, like nitrogen, that are lacking in the soil. Because of these adaptations, carnivorous plants will grow where most other plants cannot.

The Venus Fly Trap is not the only carnivorous plant. Other major groups include Pitcher Plants, Bladderworts, and Sticky Traps (which include Sundews and Butterworts).

Pitcher Plants come in a plethora of shapes, sizes, colors, and forms. Some Pitcher Plants are rather short and stubby such as the Purple Pitcher, Sarracenia purpurea, which is found along the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. and Canada and even in swampy areas of the Great Lakes region. In fact, the Purple Pitcher is the state flower of Newfoundland.

Inside the pitchers are downward-pointing hairs containing nectar which attracts insects. Insects are captured by slipping and falling off the hairs and into liquid in the bottom of the pitcher. They die by drowning in this liquid. Acids and enzymes then break down the insect into a soup, which is used by the plant for nutrition.

In the southeast portion of the U.S., we can find a beautiful, slender pitcher plant often called a Trumpet Pitcher, Sarracenia, because of its long, trumpet-like, tubular pitcher. Its habitat ranges from Virginia to the Carolinas, Florida, and west to Louisiana.

These pitchers can get quite tall, up to 3 to 4 feet in height. These beautiful pitchers, coming in many different colors, use an interesting way to lure and capture their prey. The bright colors and nectar trails attract insects, similar to the way a flower attracts insects. Ultimately, these vibrant colors lead the prey to the death pit.

The insects are intoxicated by plant secretions, making them more vulnerable and leading them to their death down the long, slender pitcher tube. At this point, the insect has no escape and drowns. It is subsequently broken down by the pitcher's juices. Although beautiful, these pitchers are so successful at catching insects, they sometimes catch too many and collapse as a result of the heavy weight.

A somewhat scary-looking pitcher plant called the Cobra Lilly, Darlingtonia californica, resembles a coral snake and is native to areas of the West Coast, particularly northern California and Oregon. Darlingtonia State Natural Site is an Oregon state park that features and preserves these rare plants in their native habitat.

Perhaps the hungriest of the carnivorous plants are Tropical Pitchers, Nepenthes, native to southeast Asia. These plants hang off tendrils or vines. Some are so large and heavy that they actually rest on the ground and have been known to digest animals as large as a rat. Other animals that have fallen victim to these large pitchers include mice, lizards, and small birds.

Pitcher traps on these Tropical Pitchers can get up to one gallon in size, allowing them to trap large prey. However, large prey are the exception. Ants are much more common victims, attracted by the nectars in the pitcher's release. These pitchers also release intoxicating secretions.

The gardening season will soon be in full swing. Here are some labor- saving ideas to make this garden season more relaxing.

Do something every day.
If you trim, weed, check for pests, and do some general maintenance every day, you will never be overwhelmed. A daily walk through the garden can help prevent problems from getting out of hand.

Choose plants for natural shape.
The reason for a natural look is simple. The more formal shape you impose on plants, the more you will work to achieve and maintain it.

Use mulch.
Mulch reduces the amount of time to weed and water your garden. Mulch helps keep your garden growing by conserving moisture and, it reduces weeding.

Begin with a good soil.
Improve soils with good soil preparation including the addition of organic matter, fertilizer, and lime. It is much easier to amend the soil before plants are in the garden.

Choose quality tools.
At times, gardening requires some extra effort with a shovel or pruner. Keeping your tools in good condition and buying quality tools makes the job easier.

Choose easier care plants.
If the plant you have in a certain area isn't working, get rid of it. Choose another that will grow in that setting without extra work. In other words, if you have a 3- x 3-foot space, grow a dwarf plant, not one that reaches 10 feet.

Make gardening a pleasure.
Don't fret over a few weeds or some tattered leaves. Your neighbors don't notice as they drive by.