WHAT TO PLANT IN AUTUMN: THE BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR TREES

There is a widespread idea that plants go in the ground in spring. It makes sense: that is when you feel like being in the garden and when everything looks good at the nursery. But when it comes to trees, shrubs and hedges, spring is the second best time. The best one is now.

Why autumn and not spring

The difference is the order in which the plant works. In autumn the air cools down before the soil does: the top stops growing, but the roots keep working for months in ground that is still warm and that, with the rains, finally has water.

The result: by the time spring arrives, that plant already has a root system in place and can put everything into growing. The one you plant in March has to make roots and leaves at the same time, with summer right behind it.

You can see the proof in the second summer. Two identical trees, one planted in autumn and one in spring, look nothing alike: the autumn one copes with the heat while the other is always short of water.

What you can plant now

Deciduous trees. This is their moment. Maples, hackberries, fruit trees. The closer they are to dropping their leaves, the better they move.

Mediterranean evergreen trees and shrubs. Strawberry tree, myrtle, bay, mastic. They welcome autumn because they root without the punishment of the heat.

Hedges. The best season, and the cheapest: planted now they close up far sooner.

Herbs and dry-climate plants. Lavender, rosemary, thyme. They need to settle before next summer.

Spring bulbs. They go in during autumn and there is no other window.

Exactly when

There is no rush, and that is the part almost nobody respects. Wait until the ground is genuinely moist, after the first proper rains, not after a shower that wets the top few centimetres.

Planting into dry soil and relying on irrigation works badly: the water stays in the root ball, the roots have no reason to leave it, and the plant stays stuck in there. Those two weeks of waiting make more difference than any fertiliser.

The same three mistakes

Planting too deep. The collar of the plant, where the trunk flares out into roots, sits at soil level. Buried, it rots.

Digging a hole the size of the root ball. It needs to be much wider, so the roots can get out easily. Deep is not necessary.

Putting fertiliser in the hole. It burns the new roots and, if anything, invites them to stay where the easy food is. Well-rotted organic matter yes; fertiliser, in spring and on top.

If you want the detail, we cover it all in how to prepare the soil before planting.