Start your containers now by growing coleus from cuttings

If you kept a coleus from last year's garden as a houseplant, you can still start cuttings for transplanting outside if you would like to increase the numbers of plants.

Use a sharp, clean knife or a pair of pruners to cut the stem just below a leaf node. Remove the lowest leaves, dip the cut end into a rooting hormone and insert it into some fresh, sterile potting soil. The cuttings will also readily root if you place them in a glass of water.

Transplant to a pot with growing medium once a small mass of roots has developed. The plants will be ready to use in the garden by the middle of May when the danger of frost has passed. Gradually acclimate the coleus plants to the outside environment by increasing the time the plants are left outside over a period of a week or so. Be sure to avoid direct sun at first so the leaves do not burn.

• It is best to wait to work your garden's soil until it dries, even though the early warm days are tempting to get started in the garden. The structure of the soil can be damaged if you dig while the soil is too wet to work. You should also avoid excessive walking in beds that are wet to avoid damaging the soil.

Sections of your garden that get more sun and are well drained may dry out much sooner than shady areas. These sunny areas may be ready for work a few days earlier. Work in compost or other organic matter to enrich the soil as needed.

• Check garden beds to be sure recently planted plants have not heaved out of the ground due to the freeze-thaw-freeze cycles typical in early spring. This tends to happen with perennials and ground covers that were grown in small containers and planted last fall without being mulched.

Gently press the crowns of perennials back into the ground, but avoid compacting the soil by stomping heavily around plants. Applying a layer of mulch will help prevent additional frost heaving.

• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.