August 14, 2007
Making Fall Garden Plans
I know that I’m not the only gardener in the state who has lost shrubs and young trees to the extended heat and drought of this summer.
We lost at least six native azaleas and about the same number of Southern indica hybrid azaleas that were planted in March. All the azaleas were well-mulched and watered regularly, but they just could not make it through the extremes of the summer.
I have to wonder if they might have made it if they had been planted last fall. While the fall and winter were dry, the shrubs may have been able to put on enough root growth to survive this summer’s baking heat.
Spring fever gets hold of many of us, and we set out new shrubs in spring, sentencing the recent transplants to the trials of summer.
But fall is actually a much better time to plant shrubs and trees in Alabama. Fall planting give plants a chance to recover from transplanting. Also, while shrubs and trees may loose their leaves and appear to go dormant during the winter, there is plenty of activity below ground. Roots of most plants continue to grow and develop during the winter. These better developed root systems help the plants better survive the stresses of summer.
Research has also shown that trees and shrubs planted in the fall have a more rapid growth rate than those planted in the spring.
Now as the summer growing season is drawing to a close I am deciding what shrubs need to be planted this fall. I am considering Southern wax myrtle and American beautyberry. Both are fairly drought tolerant and are well-suited to the dappled shade under several pine trees on the edge of my yard. I also think these two species will be more deer resistant than the azaleas they will be replacing.