Fall is Here - Where's My Shovel?

Year after year we repeat it ad nauseam but it merits reiterating "fall is the best time to plant" as long as we're talking hardy woody trees, shrubs, and perennials.

Fall is the best time to plant

As fall progresses and cooler temperatures settle in, plants begin to go dormant and become less active. In the Houston area, however, the soil remains warm enough to support continued root growth throughout the fall and winter. These optimal conditions provide huge benefits to plants planted in the fall vs spring. In spring you're asking your plants to acclimate to its new home, put on new root growth (enough to handle the quickly approaching heat), flush out and grow NOW! A hefty task for any plant.

In fall the same plant doesn't expand nearly as much energy growing and has more energy to go towards acclimating and putting on new root growth. Come springtime the plant is happily settled in and ready to flush. It will also require less water during the cooler, wetter month's of fall and  in spring its larger roots will be more efficient in taking up water and nutrients.

In summary planting in fall means less use of water, less time watering, cooler days to garden and an all around healthier happier plant better able to handle the stress of transplant. Of course fall is not the only time to plant but it's certainly the most optimal time and so I must ask "Where's my shovel?"