The Garden Bug: Planting in autumn

By Brenda Weaver

Gardeners often think that fall is too close to bitter winter weather to plant a young tree, but cooler temps and autumn rain help to establish roots before they must contend with extreme heat or drought of the following summer.

New roots establish more quickly in a hole that is 1) roughly twice the diameter of the tree's root ball, and 2) a depth that allows the tree to stand at the same level as the nearby soil, so that water does not pool around the trunk.