Benefits
In September, the heatwave has ended and it will be easier to keep your new tree moist. Another benefit to Fall planting is price. Some nurseries will lower prices to clear this season’s stock. But these are bargains only to the careful gardener.
What to Watch For
Planting in the Fall is not without risks. As Jeff Iles, Iowa State Extension Horticulturalist, notes in his Community Tree Planting and Care Guide, trees planted in the Fall are more prone to failure than those planted in the Spring. Choose wisely:
- Buy from trusted nurseries.
- Avoid amazing bargains; if it dies, it’s not a bargain (or amazing).
- Know the guarantee. If your tree doesn’t green-up by May, will you still be covered?
- Don’t plant bare-root stock in the Fall. It will be experience unneeded stress and be unlikely to succeed.
How To
Balled & burlapped trees and container-grown trees do well with Fall planting. Jeff’s Tree Planting Guide will give you more specifics, but here’s how to make it work.
- Plan for the mature size of the tree. Most shade trees will spread as much as 30 feet in adulthood. A young sugar maple next to the front door may look charming now, but it will look truly dangerous (and silly) in a matter of years.
- Keep your tree moist until planting and plant as soon as possible, digging a hole two to three times the diameter of the root-ball.
- Do not amend the soil when refilling the hole. Adding topsoil or other amendments creates pockets where water will not penetrate, or cannot drain. It’s best your tree adapts to your soil.
- Keep the root crown of your tree level with the soil as it was in the container or wrap in which it came.
- Mulch around it four to six inches deep with organic mulch – this is true tree love.
- Water your tree in well and keep the soil moist, even checking the moisture through the winter.
With care and caution, you’ll have extra autumn color next year! It's another way to make your yard, your way.
