Plant Selection and Care for a Fall Garden

Creating a successful fall garden requires carefully selecting plants that grow well in the fall season and knowing how to care for them so they can thrive throughout the season. Fall is a favorite season among gardeners because it allows you to enjoy the beauty of your garden at the most pleasant time and grow various cool seasonal crops without dealing with pests and disease problems. With the arrival of cooler temperatures, selecting the right veggies, perennials, herbs, shrubs, and flowers that can withstand changing weather conditions is crucial. You can plant annuals and perennials in your garden to create a stunning flower display throughout autumn. Trees and shrubs also provide autumnal beauty with colorful leaves, stems, and berries.

In this fall gardening guide, our experts will explore the best plants for your fall garden and offer tips on caring for them.

When to Plant a Fall Garden

The first thing is to find your first frost date, learn the "days to maturity" of crops you're planting, add 15 days to that date, and work backward to determine the right time to start seeds or transplants. If you are growing frost-tender crops, add another week to give them enough time to mature and harvest before the first frost.

Fall planting can start in September once the extreme summer heat has passed. September is the ideal month for planting fall crops in USDA zones five or below. In zones 6 through 8, planting can happen throughout the fall and early winter. Prepare your soil with compost before planting or transplanting in the garden for successful results.

Selecting the Best Plants for Fall Garden

Only some plants are suitable for growing in the fall because some varieties may not withstand the colder temperatures and declining daylight hours. Many plants thrive in fall and can bring gorgeous colors and flavors to your landscape. If you have not had success with fall planting in the past, you might be selecting the wrong type of plants or not planting them soon enough before the average first frost date. The complete plants, including vegetables, annuals, perennials, and shrubs, suitable for your fall garden.

Top Cool-season Vegetables to Choose for Your Edible Fall Garden

Living in a region with mild winters, you can plant leafy greens and root crops like lettuce, Swiss chard, collards, broccoli, spinach, beets, carrots, and radishes. Plant these cool-season vegetables in raised garden beds or on the ground for an abundant harvest in cold weather. Fall is also perfect for trying Asian greens like Chinese cabbage and Bok choy. If you live in a climate where winters are extra cold, you can still grow these crops with the help of row covers, cold frames, or high tunnels.

Furthermore, choose a cover crop like peas or buckwheat for your fall vegetable garden. Choose the best option depending on your climate. The right cover crop can improve the soil quality highly for succession planting in the coming spring.

Read More: What to Plant Now for a Fall Vegetable Garden

Trees and Shrubs for Fall Garden

The mild, cool weather of fall and warm soil temperatures are perfect for tree and shrub root development. Larger root systems of fall-planted trees and shrubs help them perform better next growing season than spring-planted ones.

Some gorgeous trees that you can choose for your fall garden include Acer griseum (Paperbark Maple), Acer rubrum (Redpointe), and Hamamelis virginiana. The red maple tree has a lovely red fall color and reaches around 45 feet tall. It can thrive in a variety of soil conditions, including wet. When it comes to ornamental bark, Acer griseum is the best. This is perfect for medium-sized fall gardens. When it reaches maturity, this beautiful tree is covered in attractive peeling coppery bark.

Cool-Weather Herbs for Fall Garden

You can choose a variety of herbs for your fall garden that will withstand cold weather, including rosemary, parsley, chives, thyme, cilantro, mint, and sage. It is best to plant these herbs from transplants in the ground or containers in an accessible location so you can easily pick them up when you need to use them.

Cool-season Annuals for Fall Garden

Cool-season annuals put on their best show in the fall garden and will remain colorful through November or longer. They can grow well in frosty evenings, and many can tolerate temperatures as low as mid-20s. Some of the fall garden's hardiest and most colorful annuals are violas, pansies, cornflowers, snapdragons, dianthus, and sweet alyssum. Their bright flowers in the autumn color palette will add flair and autumnal charm to your yard and garden.

Best Spring Blooming Bulbs for Fall Garden

Fall or early winter is a great time to put spring-flowering bulbs in the ground. Some beautiful options for a fall garden include tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, jonquils, hydrangeas, marigolds, violas, and other vibrant flowers. Plant your favorite flowers now, and they will welcome the spring season with a pop of colors in your raised beds, containers, and in-ground beds.

Read More: Fall Garden Ideas for Beginners

Plant Care Tips for Fall

Here are expert tips to keep your plants healthy and thriving in the fall and the months ahead.

Fertilize Plants

Fall is the ideal time to fertilize your plants and trees, providing them with an additional nutritional boost to help them prepare for the coming growing season. Use a water-soluble organic all-purpose fertilizer to feed outdoor plants. Fertilizing trees in the fall will protect them from harsh, freezing weather. Applying a layer of mulch fertilizer will keep your plants' roots warm and moist during the cold season.

Adjust Watering Schedule

In the cooler fall and winter months, your indoor and outdoor plants will need less watering, though the exact water needs will depend on your gardening zone. During fall, water evaporates less from the soil, meaning the soil surrounding the plants remains moist and can retain moisture for longer. Always check the soil moisture level and ensure it is dry before watering, so you don't overwater the plants.

Use drip irrigation to efficiently irrigate the roots of cool-season vegetables, annuals, spring bulbs, trees, and shrubs. A drip irrigation system will directly supply the water to the base of plants via emitters in a controlled amount as needed by the plant.

Provide Plenty of Sunlight

The next most crucial plant care tip in fall is ensuring your plants get enough sunlight. The days get shorter, and the sun angle changes in the fall. Observe how light enters your yard or garden and adjust your plant's location according to their sun exposure preference. Like proper irrigation, good light is also important for healthy plant growth and fruit development.

Prune Dead Growth

Prune away dead, damaged, or diseased leaves and branches from your plants at the start of fall. Pruning will encourage new growth, focus the plant on healthy branches, control your plant's shape, maintain its health, and make your plants look beautifully organized. Always use clean and sharp pruning shears to reduce disease spread and make clean cuts.

Monitor Temperature and Bring Houseplants Indoors

If you moved any indoor plants outside to enjoy the warmth of summer, it's time to bring them indoors. Move your houseplants back inside when nighttime temperatures fall below 55°F. Most indoor plants are tropical or subtropical, meaning they thrive in moderate temperatures of around 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take care that plants aren't placed near cold windows in winter or an air vent where they might be exposed to hot air from the home's heating system. Most houseplants won't die in colder temperatures, but they can cause leaf drop, indicating your plant is about to go dormant. Before moving plants, inspect them thoroughly for pests.

The Bottom Line

Fall is a season of colors and beauty. Cool-season vegetables, perennials, shrubs, trees, and other stunning seasonal plants will bring autumnal beauty to your fall garden. From early fall to most of November is the best time to plant cool-season plants and spring-blooming bulbs. You can have a healthy and thriving fall garden by choosing the right plants and tending them by following the above tips.

The earlier you plant in the fall, the better the results will be. Early fall planting will give plants enough time to completely root into the soil before the weather becomes too cold. For precise timing, it is recommended that you review the USDA plant hardiness zone map before selecting plants to determine which plants are suitable for your climate. There could be different planting times and overwintering instructions according to your zone. For more fall gardening tips and ideas, visit DripWorks.com. There you can find gardening tools, irrigation systems, and greenhouses to expand your gardening season.