Root Ready: Five Reasons to Plant When the Frost Bites
You can probably guess what many of our late fall activities are here on the farm: putting the dahlias to bed for the winter, getting the tulips planted, and covering our caterpillar tunnels with plastic to keep the ranunculus and other spring blooms cozy during the cold months. It’s important to enjoy all of the beauty that fall brings, but it’s also a time of intense work on the farm.
It’s important to enjoy all of the beauty that fall brings, but it’s also a time of intense effort on the farm. Planting trees and shrubs is part of that work.
What might surprise you is that late fall and early winter are also when we do most of our tree and shrub plantings. Over the last few winters, we've focused on installing lots of landscape perennials—shrubs and trees chosen to provide flowers or greenery for our Bouquet Blueprint™ designs. If the ground is dry and unfrozen enough to get a shovel in, we're planting!
While fall is by far the best time to plant large perennials, early winter is a close second. Here are five reasons why fall/winter planting is a smart move for trees and shrubs.
Cozy Planting Perks: Savings, Comfort, and a Head Start on Spring
1) Fall/winter planting gives shrubs and trees a root head start.
Even when air temperatures are frigid, soil temperatures below the first few inches stay relatively constant. This means roots keep growing, even when the plant aboveground is dormant. Since a plant can only grow as fast as its roots can take up nutrients, a better root system means a faster-growing, healthier plant, come spring.
While all the trees and shrubs we’ve planted on our farm were selected for their cuttable stems, they also help beautify the property, create shade and windbreaks, and provide habitat and food for birds and other native inhabitants of the land. Left, Cornus kousa 'Milky Way', middle, a harvest of cherry blossoms, and right, Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight'.
2) Windy weather warriors.
When you plant a tree or shrub, it typically has an undersized root system—especially those that have been potted or balled-and-burlapped. A spring-planted tree might look prettier when it goes in the ground, but because it has a disproportionate amount of leaf canopy compared to its root ball, the tree’s undersized root system is less able to keep the sapling stable when the wind hits those leaves. Fall and winter planting—especially in areas prone to strong spring winds—allows newly planted trees to weather storms more effectively.
3) End-of-season sales are a game-changer!
Fall and post-holiday sales are prime times to score great deals on shrubs and trees. Local wholesale nurseries often have stock available year-round, and with end-of-season markdowns, you can add greenery to your landscape for a fraction of the price.
4) Let nature do the watering.
Newly planted trees and shrubs need regular moisture, but hauling hoses can be a hassle. Planting in fall and winter ensures that Mother Nature helps keep the roots hydrated, reducing the need for extra work.
Whether your winters are snowy or just rainy, all that precipitation will keep your fall- or winter-planted shrubs well hydrated, with zero work on your part.
5) Planting in cold weather is actually more comfortable.
Winter planting avoids the need to work under the hot sun. It’s hard work digging large holes for trees and shrubs. Staying warm in cooler temps is way easier than battling the heat.
Size Matters: Why Bigger is Better for Trees and Shrubs
One last piece of advice: go big (as big as you can afford and are able to plant) when choosing the size of your trees or shrubs to plant. While shrub liners – those tiny plants sold in bulk trays – seem like an incredible bargain compared to the larger potted or balled-and-burlapped options at your local nursery, you’ll be waiting years for those small plants to grow large enough to harvest from.
The money saved by buying liners often gets dwarfed by the revenue loss from the long delay before the plants are ready to cut. Plus, small liner plants are far more vulnerable to drying out and are more likely to struggle with weed pressure compared to robust, larger shrubs.
I learned this lesson the hard way. I spent hundreds of dollars on liners, only to lose some of them before I even had the chance to plant them (those tiny pots dry out fast!). Many more died during short dry spells that a plant with a bigger root system could have survived. On top of that, it took more than five years before these small plants (or what remained of them) were big enough to cut more than a branch or two from. Some are still struggling, ten years later.
In contrast, the trees and shrubs I bought from a local wholesale nursery thrived from the start and were producing armloads of cuts within just a year or two. If you need a large volume of woody perennials and feel daunted by the price of bigger plants, consider a combination approach: buy one or two larger plants that will be ready to harvest within a year or two, and plant smaller liners at the same time to fill out the space as they mature.
Winter Woes: Challenges to Keep in Mind
Of course, there are some downsides to fall and winter planting. First, the roots of any plants still in pots, waiting to go in the ground, need protection. In our area, the damage comes not so much from cold temperatures themselves, but from the regular freezing and thawing caused by our constantly fluctuating winter weather. When we can’t get plants in the ground right away, we insulate their roots by packing plenty of straw or mulch around them.
Finding ideal planting windows—when the ground isn’t too wet or frozen—can also be tricky. Finally, unless you’re planting evergreens, putting in what looks like a bunch of bare sticks requires a bit of faith. You won’t know how the plant is doing until it starts to leaf out in spring. Plus, it doesn’t offer much in the way of instant gratification, unlike spring or summer planting.
Still, all things considered, fall and winter are—by far—my favorite times to plant large trees and shrubs. If you live in a climate that isn’t already snowbound, I hope you’ll be inspired to give it a try!
FREEBIE: THE BOUQUET BLUEPRINT™ FLOWER TYPES
Want to know more about how foliage plays a crucial role amongst the 6 Flower Types? We’ve created a handy guide which you can view online or even download as a PDF for reference! Become fluent in the six different floral ingredients and create gorgeous bouquets in any season or color palette.