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 Plant now and
save water
by April Sorrow
Source: Gary Wade
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia
Most Georgians are aware of the importance of conserving water, both inside and outside the home. In the landscape, a great way to save water is by planting during the cooler fall season, says a University of Georgia horticulturist.
Spring = short establishment time
Trees and shrubs planted in the spring often don't have time to get established before they're exposed to the sizzling summer heat, said Gary Wade, a horticulturist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. As temperatures rise, developing leaves, fruit and flowers demand more water and the root system may not be able to satisfy the demand, he said. If watering schedules are limited due to drought conditions, plants may die of thirst. When a plant's top demands more supplies than the roots can provide, it starts abandoning branches or dropping leaves in a fight for survival.
Fall is less stressful, more successful
"Planting in the fall is much less stressful for the plant than springtime planting," Wade said. Trees and shrubs grown in containers can be planted anytime, he said. But if you plant in the fall, as the weather cools down, the plant has a much better chance for survival. "Roots don't go dormant," he said. "They keep growing all winter. Even though the tops of deciduous plants go dormant for the winter and the tops of evergreen plants slow down, roots continue to grow. Since the tops demand little from the roots, the plant's energy can be funneled to the roots for growth and establishment." Fall-planted ornamentals also have a supply of carbohydrates and other food substances
stored in their roots from the previous growing season. This stored energy helps roots establish while the rest of the plant rests. "When spring arrives, the plant will be able to pop with growth," Wade said.
Other advantages of fall planting are less water loss due to evaporation from the soil and from foliage as temperatures cool down. For these reasons, the plant requires less water while establishing.
Follow these tips
Planting in the fall is very similar to spring planting. "The only big difference is that you don't want to fertilize when you plant in the fall," he said. "Wait until next February."
Wade offers some basic fall planting tips:
 • Plant groupings of shrubs in beds thoroughly cultivated eight to 12 inches deep.
• For a single shrub, dig a planting hole at least twice as wide and as deep as the plant's root ball.
• Make sure the planting site drains well.
• When planting balled-and-burlapped plants, cut the cord or wire from around the stem and remove it. Then remove the top third or half of any burlap or fabric from around the root ball.
• Place the plant at the same depth it was grown in the nursery. Make sure the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface.
• Fill the hole with the soil you removed. Lightly pack it with your hands, water when it's half filled and again when completely filled to remove air pockets around the roots.
• Cover the planting surface with three to five inches of mulch, such as pine straw, pine bark or even fall leaves. This is always important, but even more critical during a drought. Mulch conserves water.
• Water. Plants need water anytime it's dry no matter which season. However, in the fall, they're much more forgiving if you're a day late watering them.
Use care around trees and shrubs
When adding new plants, minimize soil disturbance around existing trees and shrubs. When planting around established trees and shrubs, it's best to plant in individual holes instead of cultivating an area and cutting roots of adjacent plants. "Most roots are within the top 12 inches of soil and the roots of established trees and shrubs can extend two to three times farther than their canopy spread," Wade said. "When you dig and cut roots, you're affecting the plant's ability to absorb water and nutrients."
Crapemyrtle is one of our most beloved summer flowering plants. Long appreciated for its beauty and brawn, Southern gardeners of the 1800s had just one species of crapemyrtle to enjoy, Lagerstroemia indica, and it came in one color, watermelon red. Thanks to modern explorers and breeders (and the plant's diversity), we now have dozens of cultivars with flower colors of lavender, purple, white, pink, or red, including new varieties with "true red" flowers.
We even have crapemyrtle available in different sizes to suit all your garden needs for trees, shrubs, groundcovers, container plants, large perennial bedding plants and hanging baskets. Tree-form crapemyrtles are ideal as flowering specimen trees or as small, flowering shade trees near patios, walkways, and entrances. Shrub forms make an excellent accent in a shrub border when planted in groups. Dwarf plants are effective as large groundcovers, perennial bedding plants, or container plants providing colorful summer flowers.
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Fall Edition 
Facts and Reflections
- Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~Albert Camus
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Early colonists made the first pumpkin pie by slicing off the top, removing the seeds, filling the insides with milk, spices, and honey, and baking the whole thing in hot ashes. Some say this was done in 1621 at the first Thanksgiving dinner celebrated by the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
- Harris' Gardening Almanac
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"Fall, not spring, is the time in this region to clear away dead leaves and branches, to renovate the borders, to start new gardens, to plant seeds of hardy annuals, to set out new perennials and shrubs. The laziest gardeners should be able to get all of the chores done where there is no excuse of ground that freezes early and stays frozen all winter. And even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."
- 'A Southern Garden' by
Elizabeth Lawrence
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As long as one has a garden, one has a future, and as long as one has a future, one is alive.
- Irish saying
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The largest pumpkin pie ever made was more than five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 lbs. It used 80 lbs. of sugar, 12 dozen eggs, and took six hours to bake.
- Harris' Gardening Almanac
Fall keeps blooming!
Mini PennyTM Hydrangea
 Even though the fall is upon us, the new blooms of the Mini PennyTM
Hydrangea are popping up next to the colored leaves of fall! These great flowers will encourage you to get out in the garden and do the mulching and fall maintenance that is good for the garden. If you are thinking about adding any new plants to your landscape, don't let this perfect weather pass you by. Get your plants in now for an established plant and better bloom performance in the spring.
 Heaven ScentTM Gardenia
Plan for Spring... look for the newest addition to the Gardener's Confidence® Collection, the Heaven ScentTM Gardenia. This new variety is a wonderfully compact plant with single white fragrant blooms that start in late spring and rebloom through summer.
A special new attribute is the fall and winter seed pods it produces that age
from yellow to orange and then red. It is hardy in Zones 6B-9, takes full sun to partial shade, and is 3-4'h x 3-4'w. Include this new variety and enjoy the fragrance of the blooms in the garden or bring them inside for heavenly scents in your home. Available nationally in limited quantities in Spring 2009. Mail order will be available with Cottage Farms Direct: www.cottagefarmsdirect.com.
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Click here for more info on these events and be sure to check with your local county extension agent and your local botanical gardens for events in your area.
Oct. 1 - 31
Sculpture in Motion
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Atlanta, GA
Oct. 1 - 31
Scarecrows in the Garden
Atlanta Botanical Garden
Atlanta, GA
Oct. 21, 7:30pm
Georgia Perennial Plant Association
General Meeting
Topic - The Restoration of Ferrell Gardens at Hills and Dales Estate
Atlanta History Center
Atlanta, GA
Oct. 25, 9am - 3:30pm
Art in the Garden Exhibit
State Botanical Gardens
Athens, GA
Oct. 26th
Smaller Gardens/Real Solutions:
Successful Planting in the
Sun and Shade
Callaway Gardens
Pine Mountain, GA
Oct. 31 - Nov. 2
Texas Home and Garden Show
Reliant Center
Houston, TX
Nov 8th, 10am
Nature Ornaments
Smedley Park
Springfield, PA
Nov 15th, 10am
Preparing for Winter and Spring
Sunset Valley City Hall
Sunset Valley, TX
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