Pros and Cons of Fall Planting

Fall is a convenient time to plant. The weather is usually more favorable than it is in spring. Conditions are comfortable for the gardener; the soil is usually mellow; the season lasts a long time and is not so changeable as in spring. Nursery stock is usually dug in the fall and is therefore fresh.

The possibilities and limitations vary with the locality. It is up to the individual gardener to know what he should and should not attempt to plant in the fall.

Should be Planted in Fall

Some things must be planted in the fall; anywhere: tulips, daffodils, other spring flowering bulbs, oriental poppies. Besides, there is a long list of other things that prefer fall planting to spring, regardless of location : peonies, lilies, irises, Virginia bluebells, hollyhocks, foxgloves, sweet rocket, canterbury bells, grass seed.

May be Planted in Fall

Some things may be planted in the fall as well as in the spring, almost everywhere. The list includes most evergreens, many shrubs, flowering and shade trees, and many hardy perennials such as daylilies, bleeding heart, asparagus; rhubarb, and Shasta daisies. Depending on the severity and length of the winters, a number of hardy annuals may be planted from seeds in the fall. The usual ones started outdoors at this time are larkspur, poppies, bachelor buttons, nigella, and calliopsis.

Doubtful Depending on Region

There is a list of plants for which the wisdom of fall planting is doubtful in some or all parts of Mid-America. For the north, it includes fruit trees and roses - they should not be planted until spring. For the eastern states of Mid-America, it includes roses unless the plants are carefully protected for winter. In the western states of Mid-America the doubtful list includes roses, fruit trees, and many other deciduous shrubs and trees. If fall planting is undertaken there, it should be done as soon as plants show signs of dormancy, so as to allow as much time as possible for establishing themselves before freezing weather.

In the southern states of Mid-America, however, a great number of things can be fall planted, including roses, deciduous trees and shrubs, and broadleaf evergreens.

Should NOT be Planted in Fall

Some things, as a general rule, should not be planted in the fall, anywhere. Spring is the best time for these : magnolia, dogwood, birch, sweet-gum, sourgum, cucumber tree, tulip tree, white oak, scarlet oak, hawthorn species, walnut species, carpinus species, fruit trees, redbud, flowering cherry or peach trees, and plane trees.

Region by Region:

North: Here the fall planting season starts in September and ends when freezing weather comes, usually early November. Evergreens, biennials, spring flowering hardy bulbs (crocus, hyacinths, daffodils) should be planted in September. Tulips can be planted in October if it is necessary to wait until then. Plant grass seed by mid-Septemberóor in November just before winter comes. But don’t sow it between these recommended periods. Most deciduous woody trees and shrubs can be planted or transplanted in October when they have shed their leavesóexcept roses and fruit trees which are too risky. The corkbark burning bush (Euonymus alatus), red leaf barberry and golden mock orange transplant better at this time if balled and burlapped.

The only real objection to fall planting in the North is the danger of winter injury, but this can be minimized if good planting techniques are followed, and good care given after planting. - R Phillips

East: Be careful about fall planting woody things, such as trees, shrubs, and evergreens, in windy locations. They should be protected with a burlap or building paper windbreak. Broadleaf evergreens (boxwood, Mahonia, holly, Japanese spurge, English ivy, rhododendron, pieris, leucothoe, etc.) should be planted early enough to become partially established before the ground freezes. Needle evergreens are not so particular unless they are in especially windy locations, in which case the earlier they are planted, the better.

Roses are not usually available until late November. After planting, mound six inches high with peat moss or soil. Potted roses can be planted any time. - V Ries

South: Roses, deciduous trees and shrubs, broadleaf and needle evergreens, and many perennials can be planted if adequately protected against wind and sunscald, and watered well before the ground freezes. - R Rucker

West: Unless the job is urgent, the average gardener will find it best to wait until spring to do most of his tree and shrub planting. Survival is likely to be much better. Successful fall planting depends on a long fall season, so that plants may establish a good root system before winter sets in. If fall planting is done, it should be started as soon as the plants show signs of dormancy. Fall planting is questionable for a great number of our deciduous shrubs and trees. It is a good season, however, for planting many herbaceous perennials; and a must for the planting of spring flowering bulbs. - L Yager

Heart: Most nurserymen prefer the fall planting season because it does not usually come to an abrupt end as does spring planting when trees and shrubs may suddenly burst forth with lush tender foliage. The easily worked, warm moist soil in early fall stimulates rapid root development of transplants, which may soon become established and thus be ahead of plants set in the spring. Small unestablished plants heaved by alternate freezing and thawing may be damaged or killed. Evergreens planted before long periods of dry, cold weather are likely to dry out and be severely damaged.

Nurserymen in our area frequently extend their fall planting by the planting of large balled and burlapped trees until winter when the ground is frozen. At that time little damage is done to lawn areas by heavy trucks. We have found during the last few years that it pays to handle both large and small trees with a ball of soil around their roots.

Peonies, oriental poppies, hollyhocks, tulips, narcissus and other spring flowering bulbs are ordinarily planted in the fall. Most evergreens, shrubs, flowering and shade trees can be transplanted successfully after the first frosts of fall. In our area most of the fruit trees and practically all of the roses are planted in the spring. Other plants which are ordinarily planted in the spring: magnolia, flowering dogwood, birch, sweet-gum, tulip tree, sour gum, white and scarlet oaks, hornbeams, hawthorns, and walnuts.

by S McLane

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