Friday, November 4, 2016

Why Fall Planting is Best

Fall is for planting.  A longer window too.  In my zone, 8-7B, have not lost plantings from late September through Christmas, bought from nursery.  Beware nursery bought plants after Christmas, they have residual fertilizer activity and not hardened against the cold.
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Beware, too, camellias kept in covered greenhouses.  Nurseries keeping the blossoms 'pretty' for sale, yet weakening them to cold.  Won't kill them, typically, to the ground, yet camellias bought in fall from a covered greenhouse, then planted ahead of a hard freeze will burn significantly.
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Story line changes for fall & winter planting for plants already growing in your landscape.  Acclimated, I move them in winter.
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Another fall-is-for-planting fact.  Best plant sales of the year are ahead of Thanksgiving, clearing space for Christmas trees.
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Roots grow better in cool weather, better at getting established, versus roots being the workhorse for water transport to foliage during spring & summer.

autumn entertaining:
Pic, above, here.
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I know, it's counter intuitive, fall-is-for-planting.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO T

2 comments:

Penelope Bianchi said...

I would swear that was my table! But it is not as long!

My loggia.......(my favorite place on earth) the Boston ivy is just not greening out.....so I am planting 10 5 gallon pots in the ground.....it has been 18 years.....the loggia was green and dripping for 15 years....the vines on the ceiling do not get sun....there is the drought......and I am not sure they were planted correctly....(please tell about thatt!!!)

I am delighted that you reinforced my instincts!!!

We are soulmates!!!

Gina said...

You are lucky. Gardening in Zone 8. I live in Zone 3-4. Not much planting going on here. However, Spring Bulbs do love the cold winters and I make sure that I plant lots of them every year.
Happy Planting