Health & Fitness
Get the Most for Your Money by Buying Plants in Fall
Plant perennials in the fall for healthy plants in spring and buy quality plants at fall plant sales.
They always say that fall is the best time to plant herbaceous perennials. (Herbaceous perennials are the non-woody plants that come back year after year in your yard or garden).
My experience with planting perennials in the fall bears this out. The plants simply do better because they have had all winter to grow their roots and acclimate to the yard. When spring rolls around, they have a head start on all the "new" perennials you could be buying at the local nursery. Fall is also a good time to plant woody things like shrubs and trees.
It's almost too late for this, but one of the best ways to get flowering perennials is to shop the sale tables at local nurseries in mid to late summer. Plant nurseries and even box stores almost always have leftover inventory from their spring and summer orders that they are just trying to unload in late summer. These plants may look pathetic up top, but as long as they have live roots, they are viable plant material for your yard. Plant them now and cover them with a mulch. Don't water them constantly and yet don't let the roots totally dry out. You will probably have some gorgeous, flowering perennials by next spring.
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Here's another fact that isn't too well known. Some of the best places to buy quality plant material in the fall season are not nurseries! They are local plant sales at botanical gardens, universities, nature centers and garden clubs. Look for these plant sales to be advertised and go!
Below I've listed several fall plant sales in the metro Atlanta area. I am including a link to the Web sites so you find out more if you wish.
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Chattahoochee Nature Center Fall Native Plant Sale 2011 - This sale is Friday, Sept. 30 through Saturday, Oct. 1, and goes from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. both days.
Hall County Master Gardeners Fall Garden Expo - Friday, Sept. 23, from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 24, from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. in Gainesville.
UGA State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens will be hosting the Georgia Gold Medal Plant Sale on Wednesday Sept. 14, from 10 a.m. - 4p.m.
And finally, Trees Atlanta will be hosting their Trees Atlanta Tree Sale on Saturday, Oct. 8, from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
