Fall Planting Q&A
I’ve been getting lots of comments and questions about fall planting. So let’s answer some of those.
Lack of Sunshine: The most common comment I hear from people regarding growing (any type of garden) is that they don’t have enough sun. Lack of sunshine can be a common problem especially if you live in an older neighborhood. I remember removing 13 trees from my first home so I could have a small raised bed garden. But here’s the good news— fall planted annuals don’t require loads of sun! If you have an area where the trees drop their leaves over winter, that’s a perfect spot for fall planting. The plants will get plenty of sunshine all winter and when the tree begins to leaf out in the spring, it will naturally shade your plants and keep those cool weather lovers blooming longer. Fall planted annuals are actually a great little hack for those areas that are a little shady the rest of the year.
Cold Weather: Won’t my plants freeze? Fall planted annuals (often known as Cool Flowers) have some unique properties that other annuals don’t. They can survive quite a dramatic temperature swing. By planting in the fall, you give the plants all winter to build robust root systems that will take off when the weather warms in March and give you blooms way before anybody else on the block. You can be the cool kid who takes bouquets to their neighbors for Easter!
Space: Do I need lots of room? No, most of these plants require only 6” of space away from their neighbor. So you can snuggle them in next to your shrubby perennials or even create a container masterpiece. (See our blog for some ideas).
Bloom time: Spring flowers are fun because you can have a lot of variety in a short span of time. From March thru May, you could easily have over 20+ varieties of flowers blooming. Begin with some anemones and ranunculus and then add several of the other plug varieties and you’ll have 3 months worth of blooms.
Are you intrigued yet? We’ve just announced our Grow Your Own Workshop for Spring Flowers. A few years ago we gave a full fledged on the farm version of this but since times are crazy, we’ve condensed the most important parts into a 2 hour online workshop. We’ve also created a Facebook group for participants to grow together throughout the winter where you can ask questions and show off your blooms. So come join us, Sept 29, 7 pm— sign up on the shop page!
Shop our Fall Plant Sale to get your spring blooms!
