Sprout Home: Q&A: Fall Gardening

Photo by Tara Heibel

Q:I want to plant some trees and shrubs in my garden before winter hits, but I live in Chicago and fall just hit us with a bang. Things got a little busy and I did not have a chance to get to it until now. Is it ok to plant now?
A:For those of us who live in climates that have colder winters, fall is generally a good time to plant. Those in warmer climates can plant mostly at anytime other than the middle of the summer.

Q:What is the best time of year to plant? I thought it would be too cold outside to do it now.
A:Early spring is the ideal season to plant, but if you did not have a chance to do it then it is actually better to plant now versus during the heat of the summer when plants can go through more shock. In the early spring, deciduous trees and shrubs are coming out of dormancy and in the fall they are settling in to dormancy. If you plant them during this time period you will be disrupting them less. You can tell if a deciduous tree or shrub is starting its dormancy period because you will begin to see it dropping its leaves. However, don't wait too long — you want to be able to give the plants a chance to get in their new home before winter does hit.

Q:Does it matter if I plant in early fall comparative to late fall?
A:Trees do grow a lot of roots in the early fall, so the colder the winter temperatures, the more concern there is for planting too late in the fall when the tree or shrub is very young and immature. As the soil temperature gets colder in the fall, new root growth slows down and then essentially ceases. There are not many concerns for trees and shrubs that are well established with age, but for trees that have just been transplanted and need to re-establish root-soil contact, the earlier in the fall the better.

Q:You keep mentioning deciduous material. What about evergreens? I was thinking about planting some spruce trees.
A:Evergreens need some extra time to get established -- in colder climates there is reason for concern the longer you wait to plant in the fall. After they get comfortable in their new home, they need some time to store enough water in order to make it through the winter months so they wake up in the spring. In Chicago, you want to be thinking about planting them very soon.

Q:Are there advantages to planting now as comparative to the spring?
A:If you run across a very early spring bloomer it might be a good time to take advantage of your find -- plant it now in case you miss its flowering prime by time you get to planting in the spring. Another advantage is that most garden centers are having sales on their plant material, so you can get a good deal. The disadvantage is that you do not have optimal selection of plant material. Most garden centers in colder climates are not bringing in more stock since things are slowing down.

Q:Is there anything else that I should be concerned with?
A:Some plant material that you purchase might be a little root bound since they have been in their grower pots for a while. Make sure you loosen up the root ball before planting so that the plant knows it has a new home. Also, make sure you do water your new material and put a layer of mulch down to help out with moisture retention.

Tara Heibel is the owner ofSprout Home, a garden supply and landscape design center with locations in Chicago and Brooklyn.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.