I am still planting out here in Indiana and I think as long as the plants have a few weeks to adjust and to a get a hold of the ground before it freezes over it should be fine to plant out.

Paula

Yes, I think you should be OK. The only thing I've had trouble with this late is iris. They really need to be planted in late August to make it through the winter.

Kevin

Dang. I kept meaning to dig up an iris tuber to split it. Sounds like it's too late.

I've found it almost impossible to kill iris at any time of year . . .

Hi Linnea,
Your fine in our area. I just planted some bargains yesterday. In our Windy City zone I would only suggest that you crush some leaves down and mulch when the ground freezes. This will help if there is any winter heeving.
You can go ahead and plant safely here till the end of Oct.
Just give them a blanket.

Thanks! Now all I have to do is make myself leave the warm coffee and the fluffy cat and go out there.
(No, I know no one can help me with that part!)

Thank you gottagarden. I'll do some digging today. =)

Nope, there's still time to plant. In my experience, the cut-off date for my neck of the woods is first week of November. Heck, I've planted shrubbery the first week of November (got FANTASTIC deal), and came through the winter beautifully.

Just make sure to keep the plants well-watered until the ground freezes - even though the top growth may be dying back (or in the case of shrubbery, leaf-less), the roots are still doing their thing underground and need moisture. Putting a layer of mulch down helps, too - and hey all those leaves that are falling now are F-R-E-E mulch!

I guess every yard is different, but I often plant perennials and even irises well into November, assuming the ground hasn't frozen yet (I go on the theory that the closer you are to the lake, the later you can plant). I only really worry when we have stretches of really cold winter weather without snow cover. Good mulch and appropriate moisture can make a big difference. That being said, I don't expect to consistently, unfailingly succeed with late-season bargains--they've often been pretty neglected (sometimes by me) before they make it into a hole.

I have quite a bit yet to do, and I'll also blame the fluffy cats and warm coffee.

I think I have to modify my original statement about not doing iris now. If you're purchasing them from some mail order place and you get the ones with the partially dried up roots, you will have problems getting them to establish in our zone this time of year. If you're simply dividing ones you have or getting ones from a friend where the roots are all still in good shape, you'll probably not have any problems.

Kevin

How about if you divided the iris, discarded a huge pile of them and forgot they were there and now somebody wants them? I guess we will see, and since they multiply like crazy if they don't make it I'll be happy to dig up some more!

Embarassed to admit it, but last year I dug up a bunch of iris in July and stored them in the garage until I could get around to getting them in the new front bed. Wellllll, it took forever to finish the new front bed, forgot about the iris, November came and WHAT'S THIS! IRIS! Forgot about them. Ground had already frozen on the surface a couple of times, but I decided I had nothing to lose, so I waited for a warm day and stuck them in. After 4 months of drying out in the garage, almost all of them made it. The moral of the story is . . . it's very very difficult to kill iris. (but of course none bloomed this year. The foliage looks great and I expect a wonderful show next year.)

This question comes up in some form every year at this time, and it is interesting to see the variation in responses from past years. In the past, people in northern states have often been very cautionary about planting perennials after mid September, though my own experience is that the vast majority of hardy perennials are planted fine in the fall as long as the ground is still workable. And essentially everybody who responded above seems to agree -- that's different from past years. In Michigan, as most other places in the NE, we have had an unusually warm fall (record late 90 degree temperature October 7), and the ground is still very warm -- great for planting almost anything. I have occasionally had some issues with frost heaving of fall planted perennials in late winter and early spring due to alternating freezing and thawing of soil. But a firm but gentle step right on the crown of the plant to push it back into the soil will solve almost all problems like that. Woody plants can be planted even far later, well into December even in the north especially for deciduous plants. Even hardy roses are fine late into the fall. Pickering Roses in Ontario routinely ships their roses out for planting to the northern states in the first week of November. I remember planting about 20 roses one early November in temps of 10 degrees F. I don't think my frozen fingers ever recovered, but all the roses grew fine the next year.

I wasn't able to get all my older plants divided and cleared out where I want to put in new plants, so now I have several pots of new plants sitting out in the garden. Would it be safe to dig a goo sized holes, and plant the whole pot till spring when I could place it where I want it? Or, am I asking for trouble?

proudgrma ... you will probably get conflicting suggestions ... however ... i end up burying plants in their pots every winter with no problems ... it is just so darn hard to get everything done that we want to, isn't it?!? ... good luck, phyl

Yes, with the best of intentions and determination, I still don't get it all done!

It's a week since I posted and I STILL don't have it done. Part of the reason that these didn't get planted in the first round is that in the full growth of summer there was no obvious place to put them. The garden looks so messy right now (except for the dahlias) it's still hard to see a good place. I thought of just burying the pots in the vegetable garden and covering them well with dirt and deciding in the spring when there is space. If anyone has a good technique for this to improve survival, let me know. I should say they are very small pots, from Bluestone.