Fall brings the best landscaping opportunities for planning homeowners. While most of the neighbors won't start their landscaping until Spring, and spend money on stressed and crowded trees, fall planters know the secrets of the season. Early season plantings create root systems that will outperform Spring roots by over 300%.
Bring Hummingbirds Right To Your Window!
Check PriceThe trees planted in September take advantage of the next six months of cool mositure by building massive networks in the absence of summer heat and the stress of supporting leaves. These trees will have the extensive root system in place to promote rapid growth come spring time.
Save this article for later so you don't lose it. Enter your email and I'll send it to you now—plus you'll get my favorite backyard birding tips delivered to your inbox.
Eastern Redbud: The Queen of Spring Drama
This native beauty provides spring color when no other plants are flowering. In late spring magenta flowers are followed by heart-shaped leaves. Site in full sun to part shade in zones 4-9 where it grows 20-30 feet.
Red Maple: The Quick-Track Shade Solution
Looking for quick shade? Red maple is the answer. Growing up to 60 feet tall, they provide amazing fall color. This tree is native to our area and can adapt to almost any soil condition. They work in zones 3-9 and as such make a great foundation tree.
American Holly: The Year Round Work Horse
American Holly Trees makes your landscape colorful even during autumn. It offers shiny evergreen leaves and bright red berries that feed birds all winter. And because of its foliage, it is important to plant both a male and a female tree in order to produce berries! It can be grown from zone 5 to zone 10.
Serviceberry: A Marvel for All Seasons
The compact native provides white spring flowers, edible summer berries for you and wildlife, and amazing fall foliage. At 10-15 feet, it is ideal for small landscapes and supports over 40 species of butterflies and moths.
River Birch: The Tree That Solves Problems
Do you have wet spots or difficult soil? River birch is a great option for these areas. They grow to a height of 30-70 feet and have unique, striking, peeling bark that adds visual interest in winter. They are in the lower risk category for pest and disease so are great for growing in zones 4-9.
Blue Spruce: The Champion of Cold Weather
This conical evergreen brings year-round structure and has striking blue foliage and makes an excellent landscape focal point. It can reach 30-60 feet tall and is perfectly adapted to zones 3-7. It is very low maintenance after establishment.
Get our free Hummingbird Attraction Guide! Plus, we'll send you our best tips for attracting more birds to your yard.
Flowering Dogwood: The Wonder of the Woodland
Those aren’t real flowers; they are colorful bracts that create magic in spring in zones 5 to 9. The actual flowers are very small and are grouped in the center. The birds love the red berries that follow. It prefers some shade in the afternoon and grows to 15 to 30 feet.
American Hornbeam: The Wildlife Attractor
This native plant provides support for over 200 species of moths and butterflies as a host plant. Its golden color in the fall and it's strong, deeply fluted bark provide a nice backdrop to the beauty of life in habitats of zones 3-9.
Magnolia: The Powerhouse of Fragrance
The Southern magnolia tree grows up to 80 feet tall and has beautiful waxy, fragrant blooms and evergreen value. The Sweetbay magnolia tree grows up to 15 feet tall. These trees are hardy in zones 4-9 and prefer rich, acidic soil.
The Attention Grabber: Smoketree
With purple leaves and smoky pink plumes during the summer, this tree stands between 20 and 30 feet tall. This tree is ideal for difficult areas in zones 3-8 as it does well in poor soils and full sunlight.
White Oak: Investment for Generations
Plant this for your grandchildren! A white oak may take time to grow but once established can live for centuries! Reaching heights of 80 feet the white oak supports more wildlife than any other native tree. Acorns from a white oak feed countless animals, and their fall colors are spectacular! Best grown in zones 3-9.
Fringetree: A Delicate Beauty
Spring flowers, white and strappy, give this native tree an ethereal quality. Attracting birds and offering edible berries, it’s an excellent choice for wildlife plantings in zones 3-9.
Arborvitae: The Solution for Your Privacy
Looking for a living fence? This dense evergreen creates great screens and only reaches heights of 20 to 40 feet. They are very cold hardy (growing zones 3 – 7) and have a wide light tolerance ranging from shade to full sun.
Arizona Cypress: Adapted to the Desert
For warm and dry zones 7 to 11, this silvery evergreen tree, which grows to be 40 to 60 feet, will thrive while other trees will struggle. This tree has natural heat and drought tolerance once it has been established.
Juniper: The Tough Survivor
Junipers grow in nearly any condition in zones 3-9. They can grow as small as groundcover types to varieties that grow 50 feet tall. They also provide winter food for birds with their blue berries. They need little to no maintenance.
Black Cherry: A Powerhouse of the Ecosystem
This rapidly growing native plants can reach heights of 60 to 80 feet and supports over 450 species of butterflies and moths. The flowers in spring produce dark cherry fruits that feed various birds. The wood also makes quality furniture.
Silverbell: The Southern Charmer
In the spring these graceful Southeast natives (growing 10-40 feet) hang white bell-shaped flowers like ornaments. They do best in zones 4-8 with partial shade and moist, well-drained soil.
The Benefits of Planting in September
The soil is still warm enough for root growth while air temperatures are cool enough to reduce transplant stress. When soil temperatures drop to around what air temperatures are expected to be during winter, root growth ceases. Water regularly to encourage fall root growth. By spring, you will have trees with root systems strong enough to power incredible growth.
Unlike your neighbors that are planting stressed seedlings that will be stressed during the March heat, you'll have established trees that will be bursting with growth because their root systems have built up strength all winter. That's the difference between strategic gardening and hoping for the best.
