Autumn
This article explains moving and planting bare rooted trees and hedging in the Winter
Now we are into October all the deciduous plants are beginning to turn colour ready to drop their leaves before winter starts. These autumn colours are as fleeting as many flowers, with reds, oranges and yellows all at once giving the garden a last flash of colour before Winter. Is this why all the gardening books say don’t just plant evergreens? Having some evergreens is important to give interest in the winter, but the real art of gardening is playing with the changes throughout the year.
As a bonus in the Autumn once the leaves are off deciduous plants they are dormant. So if you are very quiet you can dig them up and move them while they are asleep. Come Spring they awaken, look around and think: “That’s funny everything looks different, must have had a bit too much spring water last Autumn.”
This is the ideal time to plant trees and hedging bare rooted. Particularly native hedging such as hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, dog rose, etc. which are usually ready in November at a fraction of the price of potted plants.
It does seem awfully strange digging up a tree shaking off the soil and planting it somewhere else, but as it has no leaves it does not need any water no harm should come to it. The important thing is to keep as many roots as possible so that come the Spring it can get going again without to much setback. Also you must always wait until the leaves are off before digging it up and replant it as soon as possible.
Then of course there are the new leaves in the spring to look forward to and it starts all over again………………….
Don Morgan, Morgans Nursery
Stonehouse Lane, Bulkeley, Nr. Malpas, Cheshire, SY14 8BQ
Tel:01829 720514
Web Site: www.hedgeit.co.uk