Fall Is for Planting. So Why Are We Waiting for Spring?

Every spring, the garden center explodes with color and suddenly everyone wants to landscape. There is just one problem. In Texas, spring quickly becomes summer. And summer does not play nice.

For many trees, shrubs and hardy perennials, fall can be an excellent planting season. The air begins cooling while the soil remains warm enough for roots to continue developing. Instead of asking a newly planted landscape to establish itself while heading straight into Texas heat, fall planting can give plants months to work on their roots before the real test arrives.

But spring looks like planting season.

Everything is blooming. Garden centers are full. We have spring fever. So, we have been conditioned to think that’s when gardening begins. Plants do not read marketing calendars. Of course, not everything belongs in the ground in fall. Cold-sensitive plants and some warm-season material may be better suited for spring. Gardening rarely works well with absolute rules.  I have often said, “In horticulture, we have more gray than black and white”.

But if you have been putting off that tree, shrub, or perennial landscape because you “missed spring,” I have good news. You may be approaching one of the best opportunities of the year.

Stop gardening by the retail calendar and start gardening by the plant’s calendar.