Southern California cities average about seven days of rainy weather in February meaning there is still plenty of sunny days to plant trees and shrubs and prepare gardens for spring, according to Agromin. The company collects organic material from more than 50 Southern California communities, and uses it to manufacture earth-friendly soil products.

Plant Trees and Shrubs:

Planting trees and shrubs is relatively simple. First, dig a hole twice as wide but just as deep as the tree’s root ball. If the soil is mostly clay or compacted, dig a hole three times as big and amend the soil.

Doing this encourages trees roots to spread out. Place the root ball in the hole with the top of the root ball even with the top of the hole. Add soil until the hole is about two-thirds full. Water and then let the soil settle.

Use a thick layer of mulch to keep in moisture, but don’t let the mulch touch the trunk. Water as needed during periods of no rain.

Avoiding Staking New Trees:

Unless the newly planted tree is in a windy area, do not stake the tree. If you must stake the tree, do so for no more than a year. Movement helps strengthen the trunk and stimulates root growth.

A staked tree may grow taller faster, but in general, their root system is less developed and their trunks are weaker.

Plant Warm-Weather Flowers:

Once the danger of frost has passed, plant warm-season flowers such as marigolds, petunias and already-blooming plants such as violas, snapdragons, calendulas and primroses.

They provide instant color.

Select Healthy Plants At The Nursery:

Watch for signs up an unhealthy plant before you decide to make your purchase at the local nursery or home center. Otherwise, your garden will not be as successful, despite your best efforts.

Wilted or yellow leaves could mean an illness or not enough water. Long stems without much leaf growth are an indication the plant has been in its container too long. While flowers on a plant may look nice in the store, too many blooms mean the plant is devoting too much energy into creating those flowers – and could go into shock once transplanted. Roots poking out of the bottom of the plant are another sign a plant has been in its pot too long and is experiencing stress. Weeds in the pot are not a good sign. It means the plant is sharing the soil nutrients with an unwanted guest.

Plant California Native Shrubs:

Plant California native plants now, many of which are ready to bloom. These include Creeping Sage, varieties of Manzanita, California Morning Glory, Ceanothus Rigidus Snowball, Maritime California Lilac and Wooly Blue Curls.

Get A Jump On Weeds:

ven during mostly dry winters, weeds will find a way to grow. Remove them by hand or with a hoe before they get too big. Once they go to seed, the time it takes to remove them becomes much greater.

Cover your garden with two or three inches of mulch to keep new weeds from growing.

Water Potted Plants:

The winter sun can quickly dry out both indoor and outdoor potted plants. Water outdoor potted plants so the soil remains moist, especially if the weather has been dry for 7 to 10 days.

Indoor plants can dry out just as quickly, especially if exposed to sunlight or warm air from heaters or fireplaces. Agromin has more gardening tips, at www.agromin.com Agromin manufactures earth-friendly soil products for farmers, landscapers and gardeners. Agromin is the organics recycler for over 50 Southern California communities. Each month, Agromin says they receive more than 30,000 tons of organic material and then transforms the material into premium soil products,using a safe, natural and sustainable process.

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AT&T has invested more than $6.8 billion in its California wireless and wireline networks from 2009 through 2011 with a focus on improving the company’s mobile broadband coverage and overall performance of its networks.

During 2011, AT&T made nearly 7,500 wireless network upgrades in four key categories in California. These enhancements include:

    --  Activating more than 120 new cell sites or towers to improve network
        coverage.
    --  Deploying faster fiber-optic connections to nearly 2,850 cell sites.
        Combined with HSPA+ technology, these deployments enable 4G speeds**.
    --  Adding capacity, or an extra layer of frequency to cell sites - like
        adding lanes to a highway - with the addition of nearly 4,200 of these
        layers, or "carriers".
    --  Upgrading more than 300 cell sites to provide fast mobile broadband
        speeds.

AT&T also launched its new 4G LTE network in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Los Angeles and in San Diego on January 5.

“Our goal is to deliver a network experience that mobilizes everything for customers.” – Fred Devereux AT&T Region President – West.

“The ongoing investment we’re making in California is designed to increase coverage and reliability, and to provide advanced services to our customers. Paired with our recent launch of our 4G LTE network in the Bay Area, in Los Angeles and in San Diego, customers can use wireless technology to its full potential,” he added.

CNN Money recently recognized AT&T for enhancing its wireless network. Last year, AT&T completed 150,000 network enhancements across the country, more than triple the year before, giving customers more capacity and faster speeds, as well as improving 3G dropped-call performance by 25 percent.

“To stay connected with friends, family and business, Californians use wireless communications now more than ever before.”  - Gene Hale Chair Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce (GLAAAC)

“I applaud AT&T’s continued investment to its wireless network and commitment to the communication needs of California’s residents and businesses,” Hale stated.

AT&T plans to support the build or upgrade of thousands of cell sites nationwide to increase network speed, coverage and reliability for both mobile voice and broadband services. In addition, AT&T plans to install additional radio “carriers” at thousands of cell sites nationally, enabling new layers of spectrum capacity to carry larger volumes of mobile broadband traffic. Additional capacity helps support rising mobile data traffic volumes, which continue to increase at a rapid pace.

In 2012, AT&T plans to double its 4G LTE coverage.

AT&T operates the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network*** with nearly 30,000 hotspots in the U.S. and provides access to nearly 190,000 hotspots globally through roaming agreements. Most AT&T smartphone customers get access to our entire national Wi-Fi network at no additional cost, and Wi-Fi usage doesn’t count against customers’ monthly wireless data plans.

http://focus.att.com/dfw and http://focus.att.com/houston.

For more information about AT&T’s coverage in California or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit the AT&T Coverage Viewer. Using the online tool, AT&T customers can measure quality of coverage from a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark.

For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit the AT&T network news page.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

**4G speeds delivered by HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul. Available in limited areas. Availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deployment. 4G device required. Learn more at att.com/network.

*** Largest based on company branded and operated hotspots. Access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic. A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See www.attwifi.com for details and locations.

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