Autumn presents the best time to plant many trees, shrubs and garden plants. The soil is still warm from the summer and moist from the early autumn rain, providing the very best conditions for plant growth.
As your plants start to die back for winter it opens up new spaces for additional plants and helps to identify gaps in the border that can be filled with new plantings. Use autumn and winter interest plants to create colour and drama in the garden.
Gaps in the flower border can be filled with new perennials or planted with a variety of spring flowering bulbs. Check out the huge range of flowering bulbs available from your local garden centre. November is the best time to plant tulips and you may even find discounted bulbs in the garden centre in late autumn that will still create a great display in spring.
Roses, trees and shrubs can all be planted now; in fact autumn and winter are the best seasons to plant, because many plants will be dormant and the soil will be moist. Check the growing needs of your chosen plant to ensure your garden and especially your garden soil provides the very best conditions for growth.
Garden Structure
Think about the structure of your border and choose plants that provide good interest for several seasons. Evergreen plants hold their foliage throughout the seasons but they aren’t always green. Surprisingly even evergreen plants can change their foliage colours as winter progresses. Look out for interesting foliage colours to add additional interest throughout the autumn and the winter.
Good plants include silver foliage plants such as the spiky Astelia (not fully hardy), Elaegnus ‘Quicksilver’, Buddleia ‘Silver Anniversary’ and lavenders. For rich evergreen purple foliage choose Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb. Rich yellow evergreen foliage can be added using Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ or consider Elaegnus pungens ‘Maculata’ which has yellow leaves edged in green.
Autumn Colour
It’s not just evergreen plants that have great autumn interest. The foliage of most deciduous trees and shrubs take on stunning colours before they fall. Some, more than others have amazing autumn tints.
Look out for small compact trees and shrubs with attractive foliage and stunning autumn colours such as Japanese maples (Acer palmatum). Another great plant for all year interest is the smoke bush, Cotinus ‘Grace. It’s a large and vigorous shrub with soft purple-red leaves and scarlet autumn foliage. It also has wispy (smoke like) clusters of flowers.
For the most dramatic autumn colour choose Liquidamber, which creates a stunning, vibrant statement in the garden. It’s rich burgundy red foliage lasts right through from September to November.
Planting rules
There’s no point investing in new plants and then not planting them correctly. The first stages of growth as you plant’s roots grow into the soil are essential.
To get the very best from your new tree or shrub it needs to be planted correctly. Make sure that the root ball is thoroughly moistened so that it makes good contact with the surrounding soil when it is planted.
Dig out a hole at least twice the size of the root ball, bigger if possible, and incorporate masses of soil conditioner or a quality planting compost into the soil to improve the planting area. This will support the plant and provide nutrients as it grows. Mix Bone Meal into the planting hole to support the roots as they establish into the surrounding soil.
Fill in around the root ball with a mix of garden soil and planting compost. Then firm in around the plant using your boot, to close up any air pockets and water in well. This is very important, even if the soil is moist and you have soaked the root ball. Watering washes small particles of soil into any air pockets and improves the contact of the root ball with the surrounding soil so that it can absorb moisture and the roots can establish more quickly.
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Mark Spencer1
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