Fall is the ideal time to plant almost everything! With the leaves turning vibrant shades of orange and gold, now’s the perfect moment to give your plants a head start. Planting in the fall gives your greenery an edge come spring, when they burst forth with fresh foliage and colorful blooms!
Assessing Your Landscape: A Seasonal Check-Up
Autumn is not just for pumpkin spice lattes; it’s also a fantastic time to evaluate your landscape! Take a stroll through your garden and see what survived the summer’s heat. If any plants need replacing, there’s no time like the present. Nurseries are bursting with beautiful options, just waiting to add some seasonal charm to your space.
If you don’t have good roots, your plant won’t survive.
The Importance of Root Development: A Strong Foundation
Planting in the fall lets roots cozy up to their new home before winter’s chill or summer’s heat sets in. Most plants are letting go of their foliage for the season and can focus their energy on growing strong, healthy roots. By spring, those roots will be ready to take in all the nutrients and moisture your plants need to flourish!
Reducing Transplant Stress: A Gentle Transition
Let’s face it—transplanting can be stressful for our plant pals. But fear not! Fall rains and cooler temperatures mean fewer stressors for our green friends. Instead of scrambling to survive, your plants can put their energy into establishing a solid root system and making themselves at home.
Less Competition from Weeds and Pests: Nature’s Truce
As the days get shorter, weeds are going dormant, and pests are preparing for their winter nap. Now your plants can bask in the sun without having to compete for nutrients and space. Less competition means healthier plants—talk about a win-win!
Now is a good time to plant your bulbs.
Enjoyable Gardening Conditions: Breathe in That Crisp Air
With the heat of summer behind us, gardening in the fall becomes a delightful experience. There’s nothing quite like digging in the dirt with a cool breeze on your back and leaves crunching underfoot. Who wants to plant in 100-degree weather? Not us!
Post-Transplant Care: Nurturing Your New Friends
Once you’ve got your new plants in the ground, here are a few festive tips to help them thrive:
Watering: A Hydration Celebration!
Water your new plants daily for the first two weeks. Think of it as a hydration party for their roots! After two weeks, you can start stretching out the time between watering until you’re at a comfy once or twice a week. Most plants need about an inch of water a week under their drip line for optimal growing conditions.
Mulching: A Snug Blanket for Your Plants
Apply three inches of mulch to give your plants a warm, protective cover. Mulch helps keep soil temperatures steady, retains moisture, and prevents weeds from crashing the party. Plus, it keeps soil-borne diseases at bay, so your plants can stay healthy and happy!
Fertilizer Caution: Hold the Holiday Treats
While it’s tempting to give your plants a little extra love with fertilizer, hold off during their first fall in the ground. Fertilizer can burn those delicate root hairs and encourage tender foliage that might not handle frost well. It’s better to wait until the spring growing season to feed your garden.
Let Us Help: Your Gardening Allies
At Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping, we’re here to help you celebrate the season! Whether you need to replace some sad plants or you’re dreaming of a whole new garden design, we’ve got your back. Schedule a consultation soon—before our calendar fills up faster than a pumpkin patch on a Saturday!
Bulbs are often one of the first things to bloom in the spring. Fall is the best time to plant those bulbs for a beautiful spring show. Here are our tips for successfully planting your bulbs.
Colorful Tulips Really Say Spring
Choosing Bulbs
Many places sell bulbs in bulk bins. Pick the largest bulbs of the variety you want out of the bin because the larger the bulb, the larger the bloom. Make sure the bulbs you buy do not have any mold or cuts on them, as these bulbs may root in the ground. Decide whether you are planting each bulb separately or are doing a mass planting for more impact. We always like to plant in mass whenever possible.
Prepare the Ground
Bulbs are planted at a depth two to three times the size of the bulb. Dig the bulb bed a little deeper than that. Spread a fertilizer with lots of nitrogen and phosphorus in it on the bulb bed. Bone meal works well for this. Till the fertilizer into the soil to a depth of three inches or so.
Plant Bulbs Growing Tip Up
Plant the Bulbs
Bulbs need to be planted with the growing tip upwards. Planting the bulb upside down makes it spend more energy to reach the surface. Cover the bulbs with the dirt you removed to make the bulb bed. Do not compact the soil under the bulbs or water will not absorb well and it will be hard for the roots to grow. Water the bulb bed.
Seasonal Color
Once the bulb bed is covered, you can plant violas or pansies on top for seasonal color before the bulbs come out in the spring. Cover the soil with a three-inch layer of mulch to keep the bulbs from heaving out during the winter whether you plant seasonal color or not. The seasonal color will also help hold the soil temperature more constant, so heaving doesn’t occur.
After the Bloom
After the bloom starts to fade, deadhead the flower so the bed looks nice. The foliage will continue to grow for a while after the flowers stop. Let the foliage grow until it turns brown and withers. Right before the foliage withers, it sends all the food it has in it to the bulb. If the foliage is cut prematurely, the bulb may not have the energy it needs to grow in the spring.
The second year after planting the bulbs, dig them up and separate them. Replant the best bulbs and discard little ones and any with cuts on them.
Your Choices If We Plant Your Bulbs
We Can Help
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can plant your bulbs for you. We have several colors of tulips you can choose from. We plant a minimum of 100 bulbs. One hundred bulbs plant an area of about 20 square feet. The grouping can be split into sections. We will prepare the soil, fertilize, and plant the bulbs. After planting we will cover the bed with mulch. If you are interested in having us plant bulbs for you, simply call Jess at 816-631-0492 or email her at [email protected]. The deadline for ordering bulbs is September 15, 2024.
We have had a lot of rain this year and are not having drought problems yet. Last year was a different story, and some plants are still suffering drought stress. As summers get hotter and drier, drought-hardy perennials will make your landscape use less water. You can have a drought resistant garden that is beautiful. You don’t have to choose one over the other.
Why Native Matters
Using native perennials that are adapted to the rainfall in our area does more than reduce your water bill. Native plants feed and shelter an amazing number of insects, birds, and animals. Everyone knows pollinators are in trouble. Planting native trees, shrubs, and perennials gives them a place to live, reproduce, and feed. As a quick example, an oak tree houses 532 species of caterpillars, 147 species of birds, 120 species of mammals, and 60 species of reptiles and amphibians. In contrast, something imported like Bradford pear trees might feed a few birds, who like the fruit, but not much else.
Native Perennials
We have some suggestions for native drought-resistant perennials that will not need to be watered much once established.
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
This attractive coneflower is native to both Kansas and Missouri. It grows to be from two to four feet tall with vivid purple flowers on tall stems. In the wild, it grows in well-drained limestone, sand, clay, loam, so it grows in a variety of soils. As a bonus, this plant attracts butterflies and hummingbirds and is valuable to native bees.
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
This cheerful flower can be an annual, biennial, or a short-lived perennial, depending on the growing conditions. It grows to be three feet tall. Black-eyed Susans grow easily and can sometimes spread aggressively if the conditions are too perfect for it. Insects use the nectar and birds eat the seeds.
Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Milkweed or Butterfly Weed grows up to two feet tall. It attracts butterflies and hosts monarch butterfly caterpillars. The pollen and nectar attract other insects, as well. The plant is often home to aphids, but it will attract predator insects like the ladybeetle. Both the larvae and the adults love aphids. This plant is a must for anyone who wants a true butterfly garden, as it is the best place for caterpillars to grow and thrive.
Bonus: If you crush the seed heads of these perennials in the fall and leave them around the base of the plants, you may get more of them to fill in for a very full-looking plant next season.
While we don’t plant exclusively natives, as it would limit the combinations and creativity of our landscapes, we do like to incorporate them as much as possible along with other hardy plants for our area.
Need More Help?
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can come to your landscape and recommend the appropriate native plants for your location. You can remove non-native plants or start filling in natives as other plants die. Simply schedule a consultation and a garden care specialist will come suggest some native plants for your landscape.
While it is hot now, fall is coming. Remember, fall is the best time to plant shrubs in your landscape. Look around at the shrubs that have not survived the intense cold and then intense heat this year. Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping recommends the following shrubs to replace your dead or dying ones, or to create an entirely new landscape area for your home as well.
Drift Roses
Drift Roses are a low shrub with beautiful large flowers from apricot to coral red. The leaves are dark green. The flowers are 1.5 inches across with up to twenty-five petals. The plant gets up to two feet tall and three feet wide. Drift roses have excellent disease resistance making them a very low-maintenance plant. Plant in full sun. Deadhead spent flowers for the best results and continued blooms.
Ninebark
Ninebark shrubs vary in size and leaf color depending on the variety. The young stems are brown while the older stems have exfoliating bark. Leaves are dark green above and lighter green below. The small flowers range from white to pink and are replaced with red fruit that stays on the shrub through the fall. Depending on the variety the shrub can get from 3-8 feet tall and 4-6 feet wide. The fruit attracts birds and other wildlife. Plant in full sun.
Spirea – Gold Flame
This showy plant has small pink flowers and golden-colored leaves. New leaves are gold, and mature leaves are green gold. This hardy shrub will tolerate partial shade but does better in full sun. It is resistant to deer. Spirea Gold Flame grows up to 3 ½ feet tall and 4 feet wide. The flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators.
Crape Myrtle
Crape Myrtles are a wonderfully versatile landscape plant. They bloom all summer, come in a variety of colors from hot pink and red to white, come in sizes from ground cover to tree, and have interesting bark. In our area, crape myrtles reach shrub size. However, you can find a crape myrtle cultivar to fit almost any space. Plant in full sun for a very showy plant.
Butterfly Bush
Butterfly bush is another plant that flowers in a variety of colors ranging from yellow to orange to red to purple. The leaves vary from deep green to gray-green to silverish gray. As the name implies, the bush attracts lots of butterflies and other pollinators, including Monarch butterflies. The bush grows 6-10 feet tall and 4-10 feet wide and has a pleasing arching form. The size, flower color, and leaf color vary by variety. It requires full sun. One of our favorites is the “Miss Molly” variety.
Rose of Sharon
Rose of Sharon has big flowers that come in blue, red, pink, lavender, purple, white, or a combination of these colors. Some flowers are double blooms, while some are single blooms. The leaves are bright green. Different varieties come in different sizes, but the largest can grow up to fifteen feet tall and wide. Bees and hummingbirds love Rose of Sharon flowers. Rose of Sharon will grow well in partial shade but has more and bigger blooms in full sun.
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Oakleaf hydrangea has large, showy green leaves that turn bronze or other colors in the fall. The flowers are ivory-white when they first come out and may blush pink as they age. The bark on the stems is fuzzy and brown at first, maturing to a cinnamon color. The bark exfoliates its outer layer, lending interest to the stems. Oakleaf hydrangea size varies by variety but is typically 4-8 feet tall and as wide. Dwarf varieties may top out at three feet high. These bushes do best in partial shade or dappled sun. They attract pollinators with their flowers.
Can’t Decide?
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping’s Garden Care Specialist, Jess Jones, can advise you as to which of these beautiful shrubs will best fit into your landscape. She can help educate you on the alternatives, as well, if none of these strike your fancy. You can call our office at (816) 825-2524 or schedule a consultation to have us come out and help you evaluate your landscape and suggest new plants for your needs.
After our article on evaluating your landscape, you may have found some plants that are not doing well and need to go. You may also have found some holes in your landscaping. Consider putting one of our favorite perennials in instead. These perennials are hardy and do not need much water and fertilizer to thrive.
Catmint (Nepeta)
Catmint does great in a well-drained area in the sun. There are several varieties that all grow vigorously. The height varies by variety but is usually around 18” – 24” tall. Catmint can grow like crazy, so make sure to give it 2 to 3 feet of spacing for room to spread. When the flowers fade, shear them off to promote more blooms. Catmint is drought tolerant once established, and the leaves are edible. The scent repels some insects, including aphids and squash bugs. You will also notice that small white butterflies love this plant.
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Black-eyed Susans are easily recognizable with their yellow petals and dark brown or black centers. This member of the daisy family is native to the Eastern United States but has been naturalized across the country. This perennial is tough as nails and grows to be two to three feet high. Pollinators love this flower, and the Silvery Checkerspot butterfly grows on it. The cut flowers last a week to ten days in water, bringing the sunshine in with them. These hardy flowers will self-seed. If you want more of these in your garden, then crush up the seed heads in the fall and leave them in the mulch to sprout.
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
The purple coneflower is native to the central and eastern United States. It has pinkish-purple petals with a dark brownish center topped by an orange cap. This tough plant is drought tolerant once established and is also deer, heat, humidity, and salt resistant. It grows to be two to three feet tall and will grow in full sun and partial shade. Pollinators, especially butterflies, love coneflowers. Birds, especially American goldfinches, will eat the seeds if you leave them on the plant. Coneflowers make a nice border or plant a clump of them in the landscape. Varieties have been bred that are red, white, pink, orange, yellow, or red as well.
Daylilies (Hemerocallis)
Daylilies have big, showy flowers in a variety of colors. They reach from one to four feet high, depending on the variety. Blooming at various times of the spring and summer, daylilies provide an important source of nectar to butterflies and hummingbirds. They grow in full sun to partial shade. While each bloom only lasts a short time, the plants have numerous blooms over a long time period. Daylilies are poisonous to cats, so do not plant them if you have outdoor or feral cats around. We prefer the re-blooming varieties for more color throughout the season.
Dianthus (Dianthus)
There are over 27,000 registered varieties of Dianthus. Some of them are perennial. The flowers are fragrant and can be pink-lilac, pink-purple, or white. They have frilly margins, and some have a border around the petal. Dianthus makes a great border or is part of a landscape bed. They grow from four inches tall to four feet tall, depending on the variety. The plant is resistant to deer but vulnerable to rabbits. The petals are edible if grown organically and are often crystallized and used on cakes. We use the shorter perennial versions as the front-row border plants in many of our designs.
Liriope (Liriope)
Liriope is a low-growing ground cover. It comes in green and variegated with white. We prefer the variegated varieties. Most varieties grow from ten to eighteen inches tall. An evergreen, Liriope has lavender, purple, pink, or white flower spikes during the summer. It grows in shade or full sun and is heat, drought, and salt tolerant. In addition to being used as a groundcover, these tough plants can be used as edging or massed in a flower bed.
Coral Bells (Heuchera)
Coral bells are a low-growing perennial that has interesting foliage in colors ranging from green to yellow, red, and Burgandy. It has a tidy, clumping habit. The tiny bell-shaped flowers draw bees and butterflies. Depending on the variety, this plant will prefer partial shade. The leaf colors can be a stunning contrast to the dark mulch and other plants in your garden. Coral bells may need to be divided every three to four years to do well. They prefer the soil on the drier side but tolerate heat well.
Hostas (Hosta)
If you need a perennial for the shade, you need a Hosta. Most Hostas are between 1-2.5 feet tall and are grown for the foliage. Some varieties have fragrant, showy flowers in white, lavender, or purple. The leaves range from yellow-green to dark green to bluish-green, and variegated varieties are common. Hostas will fade or change color in the sun and get burned up easily. However, in the shade, the Hosta may outlive you if given reasonable care. They do prefer an inch of water a week to do well, so make sure to water frequently, especially when the plants are young and getting established.
Astilbe (Astilbe japonica)
These clump-forming perennials have fern-like leaves and thrive in partial to full shade. The flowers are feathery plumes in pink, red, or white. Bees love Astilbe. The plants are tolerant of heavy shade, black walnut, deer, and rabbits. The mounds can grow to be one to five feet tall. The leaves come in red/Burgandy, brown/copper, and green. They look nice in containers, walkways, and woodland areas.
Over the years, we at Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping have seen shrubs come, and shrubs go. Our favorites are hardy, last through whatever weather Mother Nature dishes out, and look great. Any of these shrubs would make a great addition to your landscape.
Different Shrubs for Different Reasons
Some of these shrubs are evergreen and give interest all year long. Others on this list have colorful flowers, while some have leaves that turn colors in the fall. They come in many shapes, sizes, textures, and growth habits, giving them their unique personality and purpose in the landscape. All of the shrubs on this list are easy to care for once they are established and fairly low maintenance for your typical homeowner.
Boxwoods
Boxwoods are a staple in the landscaping industry and are the number one selling plant for landscapes. Originally from Europe and Asia, many varieties of these shrubs are available. They are all evergreen and grow into a dense, thick shrubs. Our favorite varieties are Green Velvet and Graham Blandy. Both are very hardy, especially when established. The first winter is the most challenging, so make sure they are watered correctly. As a bonus, they are deer resistant.
Green Velvet
Green velvet boxwoods are low, round shrubs great for small hedges. The dark green leaves hold their color all year. In the spring, light green foliage and white flowers make an appearance. These naturally rounded shrubs can be pruned into any shape you want.
Graham Blandy
Graham Blandy boxwoods are tall, skinny-shaped evergreen shrubs that are great for flanking entryways or for screening air conditioners and meters. They are a wonderful accent shrub in the landscape to create some height in tight spaces.
Fine Line Buckthorn
Fine Line Buckthorn is a great woody shrub for entryways and screening meters or air conditioners or even summer privacy around the pool. It is deciduous, so it will lose its leaves in the fall. However, buckthorns have a light, airy texture and are a little bit softer than boxwood. They are also less maintenance than tall boxwoods. The leaves become yellow in the fall before dropping off for the winter.
Spirea
These super hardy shrubs are great to bring interest to a spot in your landscape. They are rounded and have very nice flowers. Spirea is deciduous, so they will lose their leaves in the fall. Their flowers attract bees and butterflies. Our two favorite varieties are gold swan and gold flame.
Gold Swan
This spirea is a dense, compact shrub that can be trimmed back aggressively. In the spring, we trim it into round bowling balls, which hold their shape all year. Gold Swan has clusters of white flowers in the spring.
Gold Flame
The leaves of gold flame spirea start out bronze tipped in the spring. They turn yellow-green and then turn red in the fall. Clusters of red flowers appear in the summer. Gold flame is a super hardy shrub.
Butterfly Bush
Butterfly bush is a deciduous shrub with long, narrow sage green leaves and lots of flowers. The colorful, cone-shaped flowers bloom in the summer and attract hummingbirds and butterflies in swarms. Butterfly bushes come in many colors, from pinks and purples to dark purple. Our favorite variety is Miss Molly.
Miss Molly
The Miss Molly variety is the closest to red of any butterfly bush. Miss Molly is a fun summer shrub that looks good in any landscape.
Crape Myrtle
Crape myrtles come in various heights, from low dwarf varieties up to even small trees in our climate. In the south, they can grow even bigger, as you see in the image above. In the KC area, they tend to stay under 8’-10’ because of our colder climate. We have been substituting crape myrtles for roses in our landscapes because roses are having some challenges with pests and diseases. Crape myrtles leaf out in late May or June and have bright flowers in pinks, purples, and reds. They shed their thin gray bark, which adds texture and interest to your landscape. Crape myrtles often have multiple trunks. Do not give up on your crape myrtle plants in early spring, as they often don’t come out until late. Water them deep in the fall and protect them in the winter, and they will be a hardy show stopper in your garden.
Ninebark
Ninebark has a nice, rounded form with small white flowers that appear in clusters in the late spring. After the flowers, red capsules appear, which turn brown in the fall and stay all winter. Ninebarks have green leaves with red highlights. The leaves turn yellow in the fall. The bark of the ninebark peels off, showing layers of bark that are reddish to light brown, increasing the shrub’s interest. Our favorite varieties are amber jubilee and coppertina.
Amber Jubilee
The leaves are red to purple when they grow in the spring. In the fall, the leaves turn yellow, orange, purple, or red before falling off for the winter. The flowers are white with yellow centers. Amber Jubilee was named to honor Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.
Coppertina
Coppertina has copper orange leaves with soft pink flowers. This shrub makes a dramatic specimen or an excellent hedge. Coppertina is drought resistant after it is established. This is a good shrub for problematic areas in the landscape.
