Winter is a great time to Plant (in Florida, that is)

Fall color in Fothergilla gardenii - False witchalder
I am often asked about when the best time to plant is. To be honest, the best time is usually now. Most of us know the adage about when the best time to plant a tree is - 10 years ago. Second best time is now. So, as we cannot yet journey back in time, we've only got today to work with.
All that said, I do not like to plant from March through early June here in Florida. It is simply too hot and the chance of rain is at its lowest. Soils get dry and they are often difficult to keep moist without frequent and deep watering. Planting after the summer rains arrive, avoids the problem of soil moisture, but it doesn't circumvent the fact that plants are trying to actively grow and their water needs are great. New plants need time to develop a mature root system and that is not easy during the heat of summer. That leaves early winter.
Today, I finally found some time to plant a few things that have been in pots these past couple of months. I needed time to fully decide where I would plant them, but I've also been waiting for this dip in temperature. With this "chill", they are going dormant. There is no need to support above-ground foliage that would be rapidly transpiring if this had been summer. The roots can adjust to their new home without the burden of keeping the foliage alive. The soil is reasonably moist as well. It is normal to get a bit of rain on a weekly basis and the lower temperatures don't dry the upper foot or so out in between the showers as it would in summer.
Plants native to your region are not too tender to plant should a frost occur. They are adapted to it - newly planted or well established. I also sow my wildflower seed during these months. Native wildflowers shed their seeds most often during the late fall. They do not wait until the danger of frost has passed. These are not vegetable gardens that we're dealing with. Over the years, I have found that my seedlings are less apt to suffer damage to their foliage during a frost than their parents. Some, need the winter chill before they will germinate. They can't get this if you wait until spring to sow them. If I were still living in Wisconsin, I would not be planting in the dead of winter....., but I'm in Florida. If you live in the deep south, plant now and let them adjust during these relatively easier months.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ethics of Collecting Seed

Image
I've been writing lately about seeds and using them to create what is often called a pollinator meadow. A great many of the plants in my new landscape were grown from seed. Frankly, I have always loved sowing seeds and watching them sprout. I started in early childhood and I've been doing it since. It's rewarding and the anticipation of waiting for seeds to sprout is difficult to match unless you play the lottery. I rarely purchase seeds. I collect them. When I can, I purchase a few plants of a species I wish to add to my landscape and I then collect their seed after they bloom. If a plant doesn't prosper sufficiently to set seed for me, it is not a plant I wish to continue to grow. Over the years, I've tried a great many plants that I've failed to adequately provide for. Today in my landscape, I'm trying a few that I've never tried before. The exceptions come from plants that are not available in the trade. To grow these from seed, I need to collect
Read more

Wildflower Meadows - The Importance of Grasses

Image
A Natural Wildflower "Meadow" - Apalachicola National Forest I grew up in the prairie Midwest and was fortunate to have been caught up in the prairie restoration movement that blazed brightly in the last few decades of this past century. Very little of our original prairie ecosystems remain as the rich prairie soils were quickly converted to agricultural uses as European settlers swarmed their way over the continent.  These ecosystems are extremely diverse, regardless of where they occur. From the tall-grass prairies of the Midwest to the rockland prairies of the Mid-South and the true dry prairie systems here in Florida where I now reside, there are several universal characteristics - they are some of the most species diverse systems in the world and they are dominated by grasses. Grasses, in all their many shapes and forms, are what form the foundation of any "meadow." That must also be true for all the "wildflower meadows" I see extolled on s
Read more

A Pollinator Garden is More than Wildflowers

Image
A natural grass-dominated meadow in the shade Splitbeard bluestem - Andropogon ternarius Lopsided Indiangrass - Sorghastrum secundum Sites on social media that are promoting pollinator gardens are rife with posts about wildflowers. Folks seeking to make their landscapes pollinator friendly seem to be almost-universally focused on wildflowers. What these well-meaning people seem to not understand is the importance of native grasses. Meadows, prairies, and other wildflower-dominated systems are mostly grass. Grasses form the backbone of every one of these plant communities. It isn't the wildflowers. They simply provide most of the color - but a living landscape is not about color, it's about creating habitat, and this habitat requires us to incorporate native grasses. It is true that the vast majority of grasses, and their graminoid relatives, are wind pollinated. They do not provide nectar and pollen for the most part, but despite that they are significant. More s
Read more