Lawn and Landscape Blog

Garden centers have us tricked, and we let them trick us. After a long winter of reading magazines full of tantalizing plants and flowers, we itch for the first warm day. Nurseries make most of their annual income in the Spring, which almost everyone considers to be the best time to replace their landscaping.

But it isn’t. Fall is the best time to plant grass and shrubs and it’s time we realized this. Not only is cooler weather easier on new plants, but planting with rain on the horizon also has advantages. Here’s more on why planting in the Fall can make your yard more robust than we imagined.

Plants love Fall weather. Their leaves aren’t stressed by scorching sun, and cooler temps lessen the demand for water from the roots. Many experts think that fall-dug plants are more robust than spring- or summer-dug plants.

Less watering means lower maintenance. If you plant in spring or summer, more often than not you have to dutifully keep up with watering during those first few weeks or months. Constant observation of your new landscaping gets tedious as the heat ramps ups.

It’s easier on the trees once their leaves are gone. There’s less pressure to devote resources to keeping them alive, and all of their effort is dedicated to growing roots. That’s the benefit of Fall digging for all plants. You’re helping them concentrate on roots, so when they come back in the Spring, they’re ready to put on more top growth in the form of lovely foliage and stunning blooms. If you plant in Spring or Summer, you have to wait an entire year to see those results.

It’s also easier to see where you need to add plants. You should leave your plants up for winter to help the landscaping insulate itself, capture moisture and protect overwintering pollinators, but it also will help you see where the gaps between plants are. Maybe a grass is needed in an open spot, or you realize you want some spring blooms to pop in one bed. Now’s the time to make those changes while the mosquitoes and leaves are gone. You can actually see the ground and get to it through the skeletons of the year’s growth.

So when you’re ready to plant new grass and shrubs, don’t wait until Spring. Call Gabris Landscaping in the Fall to schedule your next landscape replacement project.