Cool autumn days are the ideal time to plant new trees in the landscape.
Autumn brings renewed vigor to the garden.
Trees ignite in fiery hues.Astersand sunflowers erupt with autumn blooms.
Credit: Roger Foley
Even our vegetable gardens regain productivity.
But not all trees benefit from fall planting.
Fall is the best time to plant container grown and balled-and-burlapped shade trees, conifers, and flowering trees.
Credit: Steve Bender
These include maples, pines, dogwoods, and other landscape favorites.
However, many container-grown plants can be planted at any time as long as they receive proper care.
Autumn is also the best time to select trees for fall color.
Credit: Dr. Bodie Pennisi, Extension Horticulture Specialist, University of Georgia
Foliage color can vary between individual trees, which is why plantingand shoppingin fall is beneficial.
Give this shade tree plenty of room to spread its roots.
Plants tolerate wet soil, making them useful in rain gardens.
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Plants have a deep tap root, making them drought tolerant though difficult to transplant once established.
Black gums have excellent wildlife value, supporting native bees, tree frogs, and birds.
Arborvitae
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Fall planting is not only for colorful deciduous plants.
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Needled or scale-leaved evergreens like arborvitae also benefit from the prolonged period of root establishment that fall planting provides.
Arborvitae do not tolerate dry soil.
Putting these trees in the ground in fall prepares them for the more challenging conditions of summer.
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Dogwoods make lovely specimens with multi-season interest.
The cinnamon orange to copper-colored foliage complements other autumn hues.
Shumard oaks are fast growing and incredibly adaptable, tolerating drought, wind, and urban conditions including pollution.
Credit:Rebekah D. Wallace, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
Oaks trees support a wide variety of butterfly and moth caterpillars, which in turn feed birds.
Watch for migrating songbirds among the burgundy red fall foliage.
Ginkgo
Ginkgo trees are remarkable adaptable, perhaps accounting for the longevity of this ancient tree species.
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Look for male trees at garden centers, as females produce foul-smelling fruits.
Come spring, plants will be ready to put out a flush of new growth.
Serviceberry
Serviceberries go by many names and several species perform well across the south.
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The hybridAmelanchier x grandifloratends to be the most readily available at garden centers and certainly makes a stunning specimen.
All species produce edible fruits and gorgeous red to red-orange fall foliage.
Birds flock to the tasty berries, while native bees are a common site on the white spring blooms.
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Still, fall planting is ideal as it gives plants ample time to establish before spring flowering.
The stunning purple blooms more than make up for any autumn shortcomings.
Juniper
Junipers make dense screens and stately specimens throughout the landscape.
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They tolerate drought and dry soil, as well as deer and air pollution.
Several species are commercially available, each offering a unique combination of plant form and foliage color.
The blue-green “berries” are a magnet for birds in the winter garden.
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