money Fall gardening guide: Tips for planting bulbs, veggies and trees and shrubs
Gardeners bid farewell to summer this week, when autumn officially arrived on Thursday. But the change of seasons does not have to signal the end of the planting season for gardeners not yet ready to put away the garden tools for winter.
In fact, autumn can be the most satisfying time of the year to tend the soil for those gardeners who abhor sunscreen, mosquitos and dragging around the water hose daily.
Shorter days and cooler temperatures do provide some challenges and limitations for gardeners but fall has some advantages as a time to plant. And some plants are biologically designed to be planted just before the cold winter winds blow in Greater Columbus. Let’s look at some plants to consider planting in autumn as well as some benefits and cautions.
Trees and shrubs
Autumn weather in Ohio typically provides adequate soil temperatures for additional root growth of newly planted trees and shrubs before the soil freezes, and more favorable soil moisture conditions than we typically experience in late spring and summer.
More moderate air temperatures experienced in autumn means that trees lose less moisture through transpiration, reducing their need for soil moisture. Trees and shrubs planted in fall are also less susceptible to insects and diseases that are more prevalent during the warmer and more humid spring and summer months.
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While most trees and shrubs can be planted anytime when the soil is not frozen, a few species of trees survive and grow better when planted in spring, so be mindful of waiting to plant these: beech, sassafras, sweetgum, sourwood, walnut, white oak, dogwood and Japanese maple. Shrubs such as azalea, rhododendron, hemlock and holly will also perform best when planted in spring.
Herbaceous perennials
In recent years, many nurseries and garden centers have started to offer a greater variety of herbaceous perennials for sale later into the fall. No longer are just mums and asters available for planting in September and October — now you will find many perennials such as coneflower, alliums, black-eyed Susan, coreopsis, coral bells, catmint, yarrow, ice plant, lavender, Russian sage and many more. And sedums! There are dozens of sedums that provide rich colors throughout the fall and will be the first plants that will pop through the snow next February or March. Sedums can also be an important late-season food source for pollinators.
Be sure to plant herbaceous perennials as early in autumn as possible for maximum root development before the ground freezes, and plan to irrigate if the soil dries out between rains.
Flowering annuals
Yes, flowering annuals in September! If your geraniums are leggy or the begonias and marigolds have faded, visit a garden center where you will find a new crop of flowering annuals such as celosia, snapdragon, coleus and pansies that will extend the colors of summer in your landscape for another 4 to 6 weeks until the first killing frost pulls the plug on these bright colors for the season.
Cover crops
You don’t have to be a farmer to grow a cover crop. If you have a garden area where you grow warm-season vegetables or annuals that you normally leave fallow in winter, you can improve your soil during the winter season by growing a grain or legume. Crops that make suitable cover crops include buckwheat, oats, winter rye, winter wheat, barley, winter peas, alfalfa, hairy vetch, crimson clover, as well as mixtures of several of these crops. Most species of cover crops can be planted into early October in Greater Columbus and winter rye can be planted through late October.
Cool-season vegetables
While the harvest of warm-season vegetables such as tomato, pepper and eggplant are winding down, it’s not too late to plant cool-season vegetables such as lettuce, kale green onion, radish and even carrots and beets for harvest this fall and even into winter depending upon weather conditions.
Certain cool-season crops taste different after they have been exposed to several light frosts while growing. This is because the plants turn starches into sugars as a defense mechanism against the colder temperatures, resulting in tastier carrots in the saucepan. Crops such as carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale and chard all taste sweeter after being exposed to frost conditions.
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Gardeners can also extend the growing season into winter for cool-season crops by using row covers with one or more layers of fabric to insulate the plants and create a microclimate for continued growth when cooler temperatures persist in the fall and winter.
Garlic can also be planted in fall for harvest next spring.
Spring-flowering bulbs
Bulbs such as daffodil, tulips, hyacinth and narcissus grow foliage and bloom after an extended cold period. They should be planted when weather is cool in the fall and before the first hard frost. Consider planting some of the lesser-known but subtly beautiful spring flowering bulbs such as fritillaria with its nodding, bell-shaped flowers in several different colors, or the dainty white snowdrops. Or wood squill, which feature clusters of small star-shaped flowers in shades of purple, white and pink.
Fall planting is definitely for the patient gardener, but the reward in spring will be well worth it.
Mike Hogan is an associate professor at Ohio State University and an educator at the OSU Extension.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: A guide to fall planting: veggies, flowers and trees and shrubs
