Fall is for Planting!

Teddie Berry– Program Assistant for horticulture

No one can deny the beauty of spring. We all get wooed by the colorful displays of spring flowers in the nurseries, and being shut up inside all winter makes us more than ready to get outside and dig when the weather turns a bit warmer. However, fall is actually a much better time to plant trees and shrubs than the spring.

Many people think that plants stop growing in the fall and winter. Not true. What you see above ground may slow or even appear to die back, but those roots are still in the warm earth and continue to draw nourishment and expand.

Now apply this knowledge to planting a tree. If you plant it in the spring, you first have to contend with those unpredictable showers that make our Georgia clay turn into a gummy mess. If you do manage to get your tree into the ground, then spring disappears and the hot days of summer are immediately upon us. Periods of drought complicate things even more. The tree struggles to survive under extreme stress.

Shift to fall. A more moderate weather pattern allows for more pleasant planting days available for settling your tree into its new home. The nights are cooler and the days don’t reach triple digits, so disease and stress levels decrease for the tree. The winter months allow the root system to grow and develop so that when the next summer does bring long hot, dry days, the tree will be better established and more likely to thrive, not just survive.

Apply this same principle to your ornamental shrubs and perennials. When they have a chance to get firmly established during the fall and winter, they will reward you with showier foliage and blooms in the spring. Fall is time to plan and plant those spring-blooming bulbs, too, but you don’t have to wait until spring to enjoy color in your beds.

Fall is pansy time, but don’t rush to buy the first plants you see in the stores. Here in middle Georgia, it’s best to wait until Oct. 1-15 to plant your pansies. Any earlier and they will become leggy and unattractive and produce fewer and smaller blooms. Buy the four-inch pots rather than the six-packs if your budget allows. You’ll be glad your plants have a bigger, stronger root system to support the bountiful blooms you will get from these plants.

Many gardeners are already planting a fall vegetable garden and plan to eat from the garden during the winter months. Broccoli, cabbage, turnips, kale, carrots, peppers and even lettuce and radishes can bring healthy choices to your dinner table.

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Want to learn more about fall planting? UGA Extension, Houston County is offering a Fall is for Planting! Class for homeowners on Thursday, Sept. 11, 6-8 p.m., in the Extension Multipurpose Room, 801 Main St, Perry.

Cost of the class is $10 per person. Join us and learn why fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubs, how to properly install trees for optimum growth, how to protect your plants from frost and cold, how to have a colorful winter landscape, and which winter vegetables to plant in your garden.

For more information and to register, email mg@uga.edu or visit our website at www.caes.uga.edu/extension/houston/. You may drop by the Extension Office and turn in your registration form and your cash or check to insure a spot in the class. Deadline is Sept. 5.

For more information on any program area, contact Houston County Extension at 478-987-2028 or drop by our office in the old courthouse, downtown Perry, 801 Main St. Office hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Visit our website at http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/houston for more news about your local Extension office.

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