When we think about Fall planting, there’s so much going on with the arrival of cool-season herbs, veggies and color, flower bulbs, garlic, cover crops, wildflowers, natives, lawn installation and revamping, and the arrival of 2020 seeds. But it’s a particularly good time to plant for permanence.
If you’ve been wanting to add shade trees, fruit trees, shrubs and vines… Fall is the ideal time to plant. Temperatures are milder, the coming rains will help your plants get established, and they’ll spend the winter putting down roots so that when Spring arrives, many plants that appeared to “just sit there” over the winter will explode with new growth. And much of the watering is up to Mother Nature, so you get a break from the vigilance required of the summer gardener.
Trees
Check the Sacramento Tree Foundation and the Sunset Western Garden Book for the best varieties to plant in our area.
Shrubs
Shrubs are invaluable for softening our home’s edges in front and on the sides, for providing depth and scale, and flowers and fruit (sometimes both)! Don’t have a ton of room? Think about an espaliered shrub or tree.
Vines
Vines are great for screening fences, providing security (if thorny) and privacy. If color is lacking in your garden, look for flowering vines that add interest at different times of the year. If you want edible vines, think about grapes or berries or passionfruit… or grow something crazy fun and pretty like hops. And there are plenty of leafy vines that will make your home look stately and established, and many of those also give spectacular fall color.
Perennials
We’re especially excited about late summer, early fall bloomers like Echinacea, Coreopsis, Mimulus, Asters and more. September is a harvest-focused, celebratory time of year when the kids go back to school, we get a break from the heat, and all of a sudden we’re looking at Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! Don’t miss the perennial superstars of September. You’ll see them at The Plant Foundry.
