What Are Fall Planting Risks?

Category: Home & Garden

With all the practical reasons of why you should plant trees and shrubs in fall, are there any fall planting risks? The biggest risk of fall planting is having the temperatures drop below freezing for both day and night over 3 days. This can freeze the plant's root system or damage new growth. Freezing periods can easily happen in spring. When they do, generally established and mature plants get damaged. Tree and shrub transplants do best when they have 4 to 6 weeks of mild weather where the ground remains warm after planting. This allows the roots to further develop before continually freezing weather. Rainfall during November and December help to reduce hand watering.