Fall is an ideal time to get a big head start on next year's growing season! It's a proven fact that fall planting gets perennial flowers, shrubs and trees off to a faster, more vigorous start the following spring.

Achillea x 'Paprika'
Item # 10090
Achillea 'Paprika'
Paprika Yarrow

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Salvia azurea
Item # 84700
Salvia azurea
Prairie Sage, New Mexico form

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Liatris ligulistylus
Item # 63745
Liatris ligulistylus
Meadow Blazingstar

each $7.99
3 to 6 $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Mahonia haematocarpa
Item # 69435
Mahonia haematocarpa
Red Berry Mahonia

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Hot Combo #5
Item # 99575
Achillea & Delosperma Combo

Combo $29.94

© All articles are copyrighted by High Country Gardens. Republication is prohibited without Permission.

Fall is an ideal time to get a big head start on next year’s growing season! It’s a proven fact that fall planting gets perennial flowers, shrubs and trees off to a faster, more vigorous start the following spring. Let’s look at the factors that make fall such a good time to plant:

  1. Fall planted plants bloom more profusely the following spring. Fall planting develops a larger, more-established root systems that help the plants take off more quickly than the same sized plant transplanted in spring.
  2. Fall transplanting requires less water. As plants go dormant, they require less frequent irrigation. This is especially valuable when planting gardens in areas with summer watering restrictions and surcharges. Note: Be sure to water first year transplants during the winter (once every 3-4 weeks) when winter moisture is scarce and the soil isn’t solidly frozen.
  3. Fall is the preferred planting time in the southwestern US (and in other mild winter climates with extreme summer temperatures). Mild fall and winter temperatures are ideal for establishing new transplants.
  4. Plants established by fall planting are better able to withstand the drying winds of spring and the withering heat of summer than spring planted ones. Fall transplants have larger, more established roots that give plants a jump on the next growing season.

80% of a plant’s root growth occurs in the late summer and fall months. Root growth continues slowly through the late fall and winter, as long as the soil is not frozen. Better root growth increases the amount of nutrients stored in the plant over the winter.

Compared to spring-planted perennials, which suffer a period of transplant shock, plants installed in the fall grow rapidly in the spring—with both substantial root growth, and more vigorous top growth and flowering.

Read Why Fall is for Planting