QUESTION: Is it too late to plant trees, shrubs and perennials?
- B.J.
ANSWER: If the ground is not frozen, which it is not, then you can still dig a hole and plant your favourite tree, shrub or perennial.
Once the ground becomes frozen then you've missed the boat. Just to clarify the difference between planting and transplanting: to plant means to take a potted or container-grown tree, shrub or perennial and plant it in the ground. Transplanting means you are digging up a tree, shrub or perennial that has rooted and has been growing in the ground for at least a season or two.
Basically if I want to move my lilac shrub from one location to another, that is transplanting. Here again it is not too late to transplant as long as the ground is not frozen. If the ground is even slightly frozen, don't even think about it.
The key thing to transplanting is that it has to be done while the plant is dormant. Either in late fall or early spring prior to it leafing out is the ideal time. Many people have been asking me how to keep container-grown plants over the winter.
The best way is to remove the pot and plant them. If you are in a situation where you want to take advantage of those late fall sales, and don't have a plan as to where things are to go yet, then heal them into the ground for the winter. This means digging a hole and burying the plant with the pot and all.
Another alternative is to group the plants all together, place them in a sheltered location and then cover the pots with peat moss, wood chips or sawdust. In any case, all of the plants in the above scenarios have to be well-watered in before freeze-up.
