Fall Planting: Shubs that Will Flourish!

Fall is the best time to plant shrubs and trees. Our weather usually begins cooling off in September, making gardening easier on both the plant and the gardener! Although daytime temperatures are still hot, our nights are cooler. 

October is a great time to plant Azaleas, Blueberries, and Hydrangeas. This time of year just brings better weather for shrubs to establish themselves without having to fight for their lives! So if you dream of beautiful blooms covering your yard on shrubs like azaleas, hydrangeas, snowball bushes, etc, do yourself and your plants a favor and plant them now, instead of waiting until spring. If your dream includes eating tasty blueberries from your own garden, plant those now too! 

Since we are now receiving regular rainfall here in Georgia, you can take advantage of that and be ready to plant when another shower is headed your way.

Shrubs planted in fall will have a head start over spring planted ones, and will have a greater chance of survival during our heat wave next summer. Even though the top growth of the plant will be dormant and might not even have any leaves, the roots will continue to grow through the winter. So get out there and enjoy the beautiful weather we’re having!

Oakleaf Hydrangea

Oakleaf Hydrangea is my favorite hydrangea, because it’s beautiful in every season! In winter, the branches exhibit lovely cinnamon colored exfoliating bark, and the large flower buds already forming are attractive. In spring, the new leaves are a reddish purple. In summer, there are the very large panicles of white blooms that turn purplish by summer’s end, hanging on into fall. In fall, the leaves turn a rich mahogany red, contrasting beautifully with the then dried rosy brown flower stalks used by many in floral arrangements. Oakleaf hydrangea is one of our most beautiful American native shrubs, and should be in every garden, especially native plant gardens! Hydrangea quercifolia is much easier to grow than other hydrangeas. The fact that it is native to the southeastern United States is probably the reason for that. It’s accustomed to our summer droughts, making it more drought-tolerant than other hydrangeas. It isn’t picky about soil. And oakleaf hydrangea can take more sun than most other hydrangeas.

Fall Color in the Garden with Native Plants

Fall is a wonderful time of the year for a gardener. Cool, crisp temperatures make outdoor work actually enjoyable. As I drove through the country this week, I couldn't help but love all the changing foliage colors along the roadside. Natural landscapes just come alive when temperatures drop.

What can we do to bring some of that color to our home garden? Many gardeners rush out to the garden center to purchase popular choices, but many of the available plants are so invasive that they should not be planted at all! We all should do a little research prior to purchasing new plants for the garden.

Native plants are superior to exotics in many ways, but the most important asset is that native plants will not overpopulate themselves to take over and choke out other plants. We should all choose native plants whenever possible.

I know I say it all the time, but my favorite of all plants is our native Oakleaf Hydrangea. Just as spectular in fall as in other seasons, Hydrangea quercifolia's large oak-shaped leaves change to a brilliant burgundy wine when autumn's cooler temperatures arrive.

Another native shrub guaranteed to attract attention is Virginia Sweetspire. Itea virginica is a native American plant that is available in several forms--all display vibrant foliage colors of wine, burgundy, or red in fall. Spring blooms are fragrant and loved by pollinators, but the foliage is usually the main reason this shrub is planted--it is simply breathtaking! (Moist soil is a requirement for this plant to thrive.)

Oakleaf Hydrangea - My Favorite Native Plant at Callaway Gardens!

Oakleaf Hydrangea is my favorite hydrangea, because it’s beautiful in every season! In winter, the branches exhibit lovely cinnamon colored exfoliating bark, and the large flower buds already forming are attractive. In spring, the new leaves are a reddish purple. In summer, there are the very large panicles of white blooms that turn purplish by summer’s end, hanging on into fall. In fall, the leaves turn a rich mahogany red, contrasting beautifully with the then dried rosy brown flower stalks used by many in floral arrangements. Oakleaf hydrangea is one of our most beautiful American native shrubs, and should be in every garden, especially native plant gardens! Hydrangea quercifolia is much easier to grow than other hydrangeas. The fact that it is native to the southeastern United States is probably the reason for that. It’s accustomed to our summer droughts, making it more drought-tolerant than other hydrangeas. It isn’t picky about soil. And oakleaf hydrangea can take more sun than most other hydrangeas. And I believe it really is true that you learn something every day, because, although you might already know this, I didn't realize until this year as I passed our largest shrub that the Oakleaf Hydrangea is fragrant!