Don’t put those gardening gloves away just yet. Fall is the perfect time to plant for spring.
Mother Nature may be slowing down this time of year, but smart gardeners know planting in the fall gives perennials a head start on spring.
“From my experience, fall is better for planting than spring,” says Lauren Springer Ogden, a nationally known garden designer.
Fall planting can continue through late September. Cooler nights are the signal for plants to redirect energy from supporting top growth to building strong root systems.
Besides giving perennials time to get established, there are other advantages to planting in the fall. Most perennials can be snatched up at bargain prices, and they will need less water and care. Crisp fall mornings also make the time spent outside more pleasant for gardeners.
“The main issue with planting in the fall is there aren’t as many plants available as in spring,” Ogden says. However, of those perennials remaining in nurseries and garden centers, 90 percent can be planted in fall. And many nurseries with catalogs, such as High Country Gardens in New Mexico (highcountrygardens.com), ship plants in fall.
“Perennials that do well are the plants that grow in spring and are done blooming in July,” Ogden explains.
She warns against planting fall-blooming, heat-loving flowers. “They don’t do well with fall planting because they’ll be trying to bloom and won’t set down roots.” Plants to avoid include zauschneria, salvias, and agastaches, she says.
Warm-season ornamental grasses aren’t good selections, either. Large grasses, like miscanthus and panicums, stop growing in the fall and will die back during the winter. However, cool-season grasses, like calamagrostis and festucas, are fine for fall planting. “They’re happy to be planted in fall,” she says.
Whether planting them in established beds or starting new perennial beds, soil preparation is the same in fall as in spring, Ogden says. She recommends watering the plants when planted and then twice a week for several weeks.
Seed companies suggest starting perennials and biennials by seeding directly into the flowerbed. However, Ogden isn’t a fan of direct sowing for beginning gardeners.
“You really have to know what you’re doing,” she says. Few perennials can compete with weeds once they get growing in the spring.
Instead of direct sowing, Ogden recommends planting seeds in pots and placing the pots outside later this year. Now’s the time to start collecting seeds for future planting.
“Keep them in a cool place like the garage or fridge. Sow the seeds in pots in late December and put the pot outside around New Year’s.”
Thin the plants when they come up in April or May. In June, repot into small, individual containers. Plants will be ready to place in perennial beds next September.
Ogden is an experienced hand with this method. Each year she grows 200 species from seed to use in a variety of landscaping projects. Not every attempt is successful: about 160-170 come up, she says.
“I grow from seed when I want to experiment, when I can’t get a certain plant locally, or when it’s too expensive to buy plants in large quantities.”
She says there’s no point in growing perennials from seed if the plants are available in a nursery. For gardeners wanting to save money by starting their perennials from scratch, Ogden recommends any of the 100 garden-
worthy penstemons. “There are about 70 to 80 varieties that you can’t find locally.”
She believes some gardeners are lily-livered when it comes to experimenting in their gardens. “People are too timid and conservative,” she says. “They should take a chance and if the plants croak, so what? Don’t worry about it.”
One of her first gardening experiments, nearly 20 years ago, was planting a fall perennial bed with extremely drought-tolerant plants. She planted the bed on the last day of August, watered in the plants and then didn’t water again that fall. “When they came up in spring, they were ready to rock,” she said.
Now’s the time for one final push before gardeners, too, go dormant for the winter.
“Go out and buy some cheapo flats of plants and have some fun,” Ogden says.
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Late bloomers add color
Although we’ve all been conditioned to plant our gardens in the spring, fall is the best time to plant perennials.
Perennials planted after the summer heat has subsided will be more robust in the spring because of the time spent developing strong roots, says Jill Livingston, local landscape architect and master gardener.
Livingston says every fall garden should have chrysanthemums, asters and ornamental grasses. But she also encourages gardeners to get creative with plantings.
“There are some wonderful combinations for fall and winter interest that can be planted together.” Livingston likes to mix textures of foliage. Two of her favorites are the ground cover Delosperma nubigenum (trailing ice plant) planted with a leafy Geranium “Biokovo” (mountain geranium). Both provide brilliant red foliage through the fall and winter.
Late bloomers are another way to add fall color, says Livingston, who owns The Green Fuse garden shop, 3400 W. 32nd Ave.
She recommends perennials like Helenium “Moreheim Beauty” (Helen’s flowers), Zinnia Grandiflora (Rocky Mountain zinnia), Ratibida (prairie coneflower), Oenothera (Ozark sundrops) and Scabiosa (pincushion flower).
While gardeners are busy planting, Livingston says it’s also a good time to do fall perennial cleanup. She suggests cutting back spent blossoms and any diseased or damaged foliage.
Adding a top dressing of organic compost to flowerbeds also is a good idea.
“I think it’s the best form of fertilizing,” she says. Add or replenish mulch to prevent frost heaving during winter. The freezing and thawing cycle common in our climate means plants can become unplanted by lifting themselves out of the ground.
Plants also may need water throughout the fall and winter. Livingston recommends placing soaker hoses in perennial beds just under the mulch. Gardeners can then attach the hose to a spigot for winter watering when needed.
“If we go two weeks without precipitation, it’s a good idea to water a newly established garden,” she says.
