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Fall is a great time to plant, because many trees, shrubs, sedges and even perennial flowers are going dormant. This means less transplant shock and stress, partly because the plants are not focusing on maintaining leaves or flowers. Instead, these sleeping plants are entering a period of underground growth, which will help launch them into a successful new growing season.
While there are plants that establish better with a spring installation, here are some that do just as well, if not better, when they go into the ground in fall. They’ll be ready to help pollinators and other wildlife come springtime.
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3. Purple Coneflower and Russian Sage
Purple coneflower and Russian sage make an all-star combination for late-summer and fall perennial beds. Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea, zones 3 to 8), native to Eastern North America, are cold-hardy perennials that bloom for months, attracting native bees and butterflies. After the bloom, the flowers’ spiky deep-orange centers can be left in the garden as decorative seedpods (and a feast for birds).
With its pale stems and delicate lavender-blue flowers, Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia, zones 5 to 9) adds an airy quality to beds, appearing like a pale-colored cloud when planted in drifts. Russian sage blooms from July to October.
Both plants are drought-tolerant, making them a good pair for a tough, low-water spot like this sidewalk garden by Garden Stories in Portland, Oregon.
Water requirement: Moderate to low, once established
Light requirement: Full sun
20 Favorite Flowers for the Fall Landscape
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A gardener’s work is never done. Even though August is the high point for the summer vegetable garden, with ripe tomatoes and peppers, freshly picked corn and never-ending zucchini rewarding you for your hard work in the spring, it’s time to start thinking about what vegetables you want for fall.
The following are 12 edibles you can plant now that will extend your vegetable growing season well into the fall months. Some, like carrots and radishes, are familiar spring options that will grow quickly and help fill in any bare patches left when you pull out your spent summer favorites. For others, such as kale and turnips, fall is the optimal planting time and frost is a plus. If you’re in a warm-winter climate, vegetables such as chard might even keep producing well into winter.
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Trees help mitigate heat-island effects by providing shade for streets and parking areas, add to the value of a property, provide habitat, cool the air and absorb carbon dioxide. Of course, they also provide beauty and can help mark the seasons.
Knowing your site will help you decide if you can plant a small tree, such as a dogwood, redbud or hawthorne, or if your yard can accommodate a large oak, pine or pecan. The function of the tree is also important to consider: Will it be multifunctional by providing screening, shade, noise reduction, cover for wildlife, erosion control or food? Discover below how you can place trees in the landscape to benefit both your home and the environment.
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Chicago is known for its brutally cold winters and hot, dry summers. “Just a few hours north and south of here is a very different climate,” says Jeff True.
Turn to native hardwoods. True says that native hardwood trees can handle weather extremes and are often his starting points. These include several maples, such as red maple (Acer rubrum, zones 3 to 9), sugar maple (A. saccharum, zones 3 to 8; shown here), silver maple (A. saccharinum, zones 3 to 9) and Freeman’s maple (A. x. freemanii, zones 5 to 8).
Native white oak (Quercus alba, zones 3 to 9), which is the state tree of Illinois, is also a tried-and-true favorite, as are swamp white oak (Q. bicolor, zones 3 to 8), Chinquapin oak (Q. muehlenbergii, zones 5 to 7) and shagbark hickory (Carya ovata, zones 4 to 8). “I personally love Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus, zones 3 to 8) and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis, zones 2 to 9),” True says.
He adds that the new elm varieties resistant to Dutch elm disease, such as Triumph elm (Ulmus ‘Morton Glossy’, zones 4 to 7), are fast-growing, allowing them to fill in spaces quickly.
8 Reasons to Plant a Great Tree