We DIG the Fall!

This has been one wild and wacky summer for weather, and I have the feeling we "ain't seen nothin' yet!" I, for one, welcome the cooler Sweatah Weathah, and not just for the influx of pumpkin flavored everything, and the glorious show Mother Nature puts on, and the fresh picked apples, and the cooler night air, and the...well, you get the picture. I also LOVE Fall for PLANTING!

Viburnum nudum var cassinoides (Wild Raisin)

That's right. I'm not one of those ambitious Spring planters. By the time April rolls around, I am too busy getting the nursery up and running. My side yard has piles of potted plants that I sorta remember to water, but not a one of them makes it in the ground much before September. ::shrug::

No, Fall is my favored planting time. It is cooler during the day, which helps when you are trying to shovel in "Rocksboro", there tends to be a bit more moisture, which is always appreciated, and plants are starting to go dormant, so they are naturally pushing their nutrients into their roots. Chances are pretty good you can score some great deals in the Fall, when those foliage tops start looking a bit worn out but those root systems are just begging to be set free from the pot. It's ok for leaves to drop, and by the time the Spring rolls around, these plants have had almost 6 months of settling in.

I do get it...we spend long winter days pining for our gardens, longing to get our hands dirty, planning and plotting, searching seed catalogs and looking for the perfect plants to fill that new corner bed. Planting in the Spring has many of the same benefits of doing so in the Fall, with the exception of time. New plantings almost always have some level of transplant shock, and when temperatures can be so volitile in the Spring, you can risk planting something tender, too early. Granted, if you are buying from us, our plants are hardy from staying outside all winter, but that isn't the case everywhere. Plants put in the ground in the Fall tend to overwinter quite well, and by the time the ground warms, the roots have spread, and the plant puts all it's energies into pushing out lush foliage.

Fall is also the time you want to put out your SEED. Many native plant seeds require varying lengths of stratification time, typically lengths of cold, moist weather that naturally breaks down the seed coat and allows for germination once the days lengthen and the soil warms. In many cases, you don't want to wait for the Spring to put down native seed, or you will pretty much just be feeding the local wildlife.

We get asked frequently if it is "too late to plant". Our answer is a resounding HECK NO! You can easily be putting plants in the ground until it is too hard to dig. Make sure you are watering regularly until we are in hard freeze, and don't put any fertilizer in the holes or on your plants. Compost as a top dressing is ok, and use those fallen leaves as a natural blanket. You may consider marking new plantings so that you don't forget what is there come the Spring, and accidently "weed" it out!

So remember, the roots are what you are buying, don't fertilize, and keep watering. You will have a garden bursting with life before you know it!

Happy FALL Planting!