How late can you plant trees and shrubs in the fall?
nick_b79
14 years ago
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heleninramsey
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Too Late to Plant Trees and Shrubs
Comments (6)Fall-Winter are the best time to plant before spring growth in my opinion as long as the ground isn't frozen. At least that is what I have observed after several years at my house when I planted all sorts of things throughout the years. The only exception is the sudden extreme cold snap where you go from 80,90*F weather to below 20*F weather within few days causing damages to newly transplanted plants....See MoreHow late do you plant potted perennials and shrubs?
Comments (4)Thank you, Marcia, Ginny and Shazam! This is great. I will take advantage of the sales and clearance going on right now and start planting away this weekend then! Thanks!!!...See MoreHow late can you plant perennials, shrubs, etc?
Comments (9)Well, I work for a landscape company, and have to deal with this concern every fall. Typically, we do plant shade trees, ornamental trees, and deciduous shrubs right up until the ground freezes. Certainly it is better to give them time to establish a root system, but we have had pretty good luck with this practice. I would NOT plant evergreens this late in the season. The last date for evergreens is Oct. 15th. They simply do not take well to late fall planting. Perennials should be in the ground by now. Another poster was right in that without an established root system, frost heaving will occur. This raises the plant out of the ground and will often kill the plant if not rectified. They key thing I stress to folks is to make sure plants get adequate water. So many people think because the temps are cooler that they don't have to water. This is a big reason why a lot of plants don't survive the winter. Please water!...See MorePlanting trees and shrubs... is it too late to plant?
Comments (4)In USDA 7 this should still be prime autumn planting time. (In my part of USDA 8 the curtain drops in November - the stormiest month of the year - and December is the coldest month of the year. Nevertheless landscape contractors and others who work in the rain may transplant etc. right through the winter, whenever the ground is not frozen). The only thing is you will have missed the chance to have new plantings root well out into the new site right after planting in any cases where particular kinds have already extended their roots (60% of root elongation for the whole year occurs in fall, after the overwintering stem (or crown, in the case of perennials that do this, such as peonies) buds have been set. But any hardy plants you already have on hand should still go into the ground now instead of being kept trapped in pots until next year. Also any root-bound woody plants - these are very frequent on the market, unfortunately - should have their roots cut and/or pulled open at planting time anyway; any circling roots that have been cut will not elongate to the same extent again until the following autumn. Spring: Winter buds open, causing new roots to form - but emphasis is on new shoot growth, flowering Summer: Top still gets most of the energy Autumn: Winter buds mature, causing existing roots to elongate - the only time of the year when plant's energy is concentrated on root growth Winter: Plant effectively hibernates, except for minimal root growth which may happen when soil temp. in 40s F. or above...See Morehoghaven_duluthmn
14 years agoginkgonut
14 years agojazzygardener
14 years agoleftwood
14 years agonick_b79
14 years ago
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