Autumn Planting This is the time to plant

Autumn-planted bare-root roses are treated to a thorough soaking before they are put in the ground. In association with

Autumn is the prime time to plant not only spring-flowering bulbs but also new trees, shrubs, hedging and perennials so they can establish successfully in still-warm soil and perform with panache, year after year

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How do you know you’ve become a ‘serious’ gardener? Arguably it’s when pottering about in the garden in spring and summer is no longer enough and you find yourself gardening in autumn and winter, too. That’s when you know the gardening bug has truly bitten. As if to prove the point, it’s the gardening done in autumn that has the biggest impact, since it’s the best time of year to successfully introduce new plants. The garden looks eortlessly better in spring and the perfect circle is complete. “There’s so much pleasure in buying bulbs and plants in autumn,” says Guy Barter, chief

Above Planting bulbs now brings with it a delightful sense of anticipation for the colourful spring show that will follow. horticulturist at the Royal Horticultural Society. “You get that nice sense of anticipation, whether it’s bulbs or cheaper plants such as pansies and wallflowers that aren’t too much fuss. Not forgetting the vegetable garden, where you could pop in some shallots or garlic. There are so many nice things you can do in autumn and some autumn days can be very pleasant. They’re not all damp, dank drizzle!” Autumn is the best time to put in new plants because the soil still retains summer’s warmth, which will help new roots establish, and there’s usually an increasing amount of rain to help plants settle in. “If you plant in early October, plants will root before the onset of wintry weather in December and they’ll be ready to resist drought next summer,” says Guy. Evergreen plants, which continue to grow slowly over winter, will benefit the most from this. As well as buying new plants, it’s a good time to divide your own and, as Guy points out, after spending summer on a garden centre bench, shopbought perennials will often be quite pot-bound by now and will benefit from being split up. From November, you also have the option of buying bare-root plants, those roses, trees, hedging plants or fruit that are sold during their dormant season. Autumn is a far less pressured time of year – unlike spring when jobs come thick and fast, all needing to be done at once. So why don’t more gardeners take advantage of autumn’s planting window? “I think it’s down to knowledge and expertise,” says Guy. “So many plants are bought on impulse, when they look nice in summer.” Twiggy bare-roots can be a hard-sell for garden centres and they’re no longer stocked as widely as they were before containerised plants became the norm. Mail order is where most of them can be found these days. “There has been such a shift to online trade this year, it will be interesting to see whether trade in plants such as bare-roots will increase as a result,” says Guy.

There are a few exceptions to the plant-in-autumn maxim: grasses, bamboos and bearded iris are all

better left until spring since they don’t grow new roots at this time of year. Those gardening on heavy clay that retains water over winter may also want to delay until spring, or raise beds for better drainage – new plants hate sitting in soggy soil. “At Wisley we have lovely free-draining sand, whereas on Rosemoor’s clay, with Devon rain, by November you just can’t get anything in the ground,” says Guy.

Andrew and Helen Ward run Norwell Nurseries near Newark, which has many choice perennials in stock. “If you’re on reasonable soil, autumn planting is a good idea, and especially if you have

Top left Bought-in plants or divisions from your own perennials will thrive after autumn planting. Top right Shady areas are best planted in autumn. Above right Robust perennials such as rudbeckia are perfect to get in the ground now. Above left Save planting grasses until spring time. really dry shade, under deciduous trees. Then, always plant in autumn because it means plants have an opportunity to get moisture during winter and early spring,” Andrew advises. Wait until later in spring when the soil under trees is already drying out, and expect to fight a battle to get plants happily established. Andrew clarifies: “If you’re on heavy soil, you have to be a bit more circumspect about what you’re putting in. I wouldn’t plant things that are borderline hardy, things that really hate sitting in wet soil, or you’ll get root dieback. On really heavy soil I would steer towards spring planting and I never fiddle around with grasses in autumn – most grasses are spring-planting plants.”

The added bonus of autumn planting is that with plentiful rain, you shouldn’t need to water new plants too often. “Typically, I wouldn’t water at all in a normal autumn,” Andrew confirms, although

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if the weather is dry, extra watering will be needed. “After winter, give them a thick mulch to retain the moisture that has built up,” he concludes. norwellnurseries.co.uk

“If you are planting bare-root or root-balled trees, autumn and winter is the time to do it,” says Steve McCurdy, managing director of Majestic Trees. These days, many trees are supplied all year round in containers – Majestic’s own method of growing trees in air-pots means they can be planted in any season – but autumn and winter is still the optimum time. Moving and planting trees in their dormant season subjects them to less stress, meaning better success rates and happier plants. The key, says Steve, is to wait until the tree has lost all its leaves. “Something like Pyrus ‘Chanticleer’ can still be in leaf in November, so wait until the end of November, and then plant it properly,” he advises.

For Steve, getting the depth right is crucial. However your tree has been grown, pay careful

Top left Evergreen trees, such as Arbutus unedo , suit autumn planting. Top right If you’re buying bare-root trees, shrubs or hedging ask how long ago plants were lifted. Above right Check the planting depth carefully. Above centre Plant when trees are dormant and all leaves have fallen. Above left Planting while trees are dormant helps minimise stress to them. attention to the ‘collar’ mark that shows you how deep it should sit in the soil. “On well-drained sandy soil you can get away with planting too deeply, but in most cases if you plant a tree in the ground too deeply you get collar rot,” Steve explains. “Tony Kirkham, Kew’s tree expert, says that if in doubt, it’s better to plant a tree a bit too high.”

When buying bare-root trees, ask suppliers when they were lifted from the ground. By the end of bare-root season some trees may have been lifted several months previously, their roots bagged or temporarily heeled into compost. “Once the fibrous roots are exposed, they’ll soon dry out,” says Steve. “You’ll have higher failure rates with bare-roots that weren’t lifted recently. It should ideally be the day before they’re shipped, so ask questions. Saving those fibrous roots is critical to the trees’ success.” majestictrees.co.uk

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According to Paul Blom of Bloms Bulbs, if you only plan to plant small groups of tulips, treat them as annuals. “Then, shallow planting at 7-10cm is perfectly adequate, and the job of lifting the bulbs after flowering is easy,” he explains. If you want to leave the bulbs in the ground to flower again in subsequent years, the advice is to go deeper, to around 12-15cm. “The big advantage of deeper planting is to minimise the number of oset bulbs produced. More energy is devoted to feeding next year’s flower bulb,” he points out.

In pots and containers, always plant new tulip bulbs into fresh compost to get maximum impact from these colourful focal points. “The most important thing is to keep pots evenly moist during autumn and spring, without soaking them. If they’re too dry in autumn they won’t suciently develop their roots, and in spring they’ll start to grow normally but the flower bud will shrivel from lack of moisture,” Paul advises. Another Bloms tip is to plant the tulip bulb with its flat side outwards, especially those around the perimeter of the pot. The largest leaf always grows from this side, so doing this will produce a more balanced-looking container.

Top left Tulips needn’t be planted deeply if they’re being grown as annuals. Top right Daodils thrive in sun or partial shade, but those with pink cups will colour best in sun. Right Use soil-based compost for containers . Above Choose the biggest bulbs for the best flowering display. Above left Deep planting encourages flowers in subsequent years. The correct planting depth is important for daodils too. “The biggest cause of daodils going blind (not producing flowers), is shallow planting,” Paul says. It also causes smaller flowers in future years. Daodil bulbs need 12-15cm of soil above them, but are happy in sunny spots or dappled shade, making them a versatile choice. As for compost choice, it should be moisture-retentive, yet free-draining and friable. Paul recommends a GAP PHOTOS; SHUTTERSTOCK; ALAMY; CLIVE NICHOLS compost that contains soil, so either mix garden soil into multipurpose compost, along with a little IMAGES leafmould and horticultural grit, or buy a soil-based mix such as John Innes No. 2.

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