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Fall is for
Planting
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Every field of work has its old
wives tales,--its supposedly infallible ideas about
how things are and how things are to be done. My
experience with old wives tales is that the more
widely they are believed the more likely it is that
they are incorrect. The field of horticulture has
not been immune to old wives tales; in fact, it
probably has more of them than most fields of work.
And true to form, the biggest old wives tale in the
field of horticulture is also one of the most widely
believed—that fall is not a good time to plant trees
and shrubs. The truth, of course, is that fall is
the best time of year to plant trees and shrubs. |
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The
truth is that a container grown tree or shrub can be
planted virtually any time of year. It is even
possible to plant them in the middle of
winter—although it is quite a bit more difficult to
dig a planting hole when the ground is frozen, so I
don’t encourage it. And when they are planted in
the middle of summer, it is important to remember
that they are very actively growing at that
time of year, and thus require plenty of readily
available water and are vulnerable to some rather
extreme consequences if that water is not readily
available. |
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Previous Articles
April 27, 2006
Crazy Clematis
May 04, 2006
Ornamental Grasses
May 11, 2006
Perennials
May 18, 2006
Herbs
May 25, 2006
Hummingbird Garden
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June 1, 2006
Gardening with Kids
June 8, 2006
Wildflower Week
June 15th
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Thumbs,
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August 4th
Cereal Killers
August 10th
Grass Hedges
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Xeriscape
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Coming Soon
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Like most old wives’ tales, the one about fall not
being a good time to plant is based on an ounce of
fact and a pound of fiction. The reality is that
Mother Nature plants almost everything in the fall.
That is the season when most seeds drop to the soil
and are “planted” in preparation for germination the
following spring. It is interesting to note than
many seeds require the cold temperatures of winter
and the action of soil organisms breaking down the
outer protective coatings of seeds in order to
germinate. Much of the confusion about fall
planting comes from the rather unnatural human
practice of planting already grown trees, shrubs,
and perennials. Mother Nature doesn’t plant full
grown plants, so any wisdom to be gained from her on
the subject is not readily apparent.
The ounce of truth behind the
fall planting myth is that when the practice of
planting already growing trees and shrubs originated
centuries ago the most practical and successful
approach was to dig up a young “sapling”—generally
without any soil remaining around its roots, move it
to its new growing location, and then replant it.
It certainly is true that, on average, this practice
can be more successfully accomplished in the spring
than in the fall, but the pound of fiction is that
this is not the practice used to transplant trees
and shrubs in our highly specialized economy.
A large section of the nursery
industry is devoted to the practice of digging up
young trees and shrubs in the spring, planting them
into containers, growing new roots systems in the
containers for a year, and then selling them to
homeowners to plant. So the tree or shrub that the
homeowner buys to plant in their home landscape is a
far cry from the “sapling” being dug up by our
ancestors with the intent of providing a little
shade around that little house on the prairie. The
question of when is the best time to plant a fully
reestablished container grown plant out into a
landscape is a much different question than when is
the best time to dig up and move a “sapling”. And
because the question is much different, so is the
answer.
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A spring planting is a little more forgiving,
because the newly planted tree or shrub has at least
a brief opportunity to send its roots out into the
surrounding soil for water and soil elements before
the active summer growing season.
But the very best time to
plant these “modern” container grown trees and
shrubs is clearly the fall. In Wyobraska, that
optimal time is September through November. Fall
and winter are relatively low stress seasons for
perennial plants, and fall planting gives the new
plant two full seasons to get established in its new
site before facing the rigors of a summer growing
season. Plus the practical aspect for the homeowner
is that the post planting care required after fall
planting is minimal compared to spring or summer
planting. Water the new tree or shrub well when
planting it, and then, because the plant is no
longer actively growing, it will require very little
post planting watering. You may want to water your
new plant weekly until it leaves turn their fall
color, then cut back to once a month or so. Be sure
to give it one good watering late in the fall—around
Thanksgiving.
As always follow proper
planting practices—planting too deep remains a
primary cause of death for new landscape plants.
And always use a shredded wood mulch in a 6-8’
circle around your new tree or in your new landscape
bed. Start with a 4 inch depth of mulch.
Oh, yes, on your way to the
garden center, watch out for those kids on their
way to school.
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