Fall Tree and Shrub Planting Desk: is it too late to plant?

In zones 3 to 6, plant trees and shrubs at least six weeks before the ground freezes, so most of the window ends in mid October. In zone 7 it runs into early December, and in zones 8 to 10 fall through winter is the best time of all. Pick your zone and your tree or shrub to get plant now, plant with care, or wait for spring, plus how much to water until the ground freezes. Your list saves on your device. No account needed.

Free fall tree and shrub planting checker. See if it is too late to plant in your zone, which trees do well in fall and which to save for spring, how much to water until the ground freezes, and a step by step planting checklist. Sourced from university extension.

Fall planting window by zone

Zones	Window	Sources
3 to 6	Mid August to mid October, at least six weeks before the ground freezes. Pines and spruces by the end of September. November and December planting raises the risk of poor root growth.	Morton Arboretum, UMass, Wisconsin
7	Mid September through early December while the soil stays warm. Plant evergreens early in that window.	NC State
8 to 10	Fall through winter is the best season. Potted plants now, bare root in January (Texas). Potted plants any time of year in Florida with regular watering.	Clemson, Texas A&M, UF/IFAS

Roots need warm soil to grow (Morton Arboretum) and keep growing slowly until the soil cools to about 45 F (Chicago Botanic Garden). No table can say when your ground will freeze, so watch the soil, not just the calendar.

Trees and shrubs that do well planted in fall

Most maples (not red maple), linden, elm, crabapple, honeylocust, hackberry, catalpa, sycamore, Kentucky coffeetree, alder, buckeye and horsechestnut, hawthorn, redbud, and most deciduous shrubs such as lilac, forsythia, and witch hazel. Pines and spruces work if planted early, before the end of September in Massachusetts (UMass).

Better planted in spring in cold zones

Most oaks, birch, red maple, flowering cherry and plum, magnolia, ginkgo, sweetgum, tuliptree, willow, beech, bald cypress, American hornbeam, larch, hemlock, arborvitae, yew, rhododendron and azalea, and dogwood. These are slow to grow new roots (Morton Arboretum, UMass, Wisconsin). In the South, Clemson says fall is still the best season.

Watering until the ground freezes

In cold zones, water new trees once a week until the ground freezes: 5 to 10 gallons for a trunk under 1 inch, 15 to 20 gallons for 1 inch or more, and skip the week if more than 1 inch of rain fell (Minnesota DNR). In zone 7, water every 2 to 3 days for the first 2 to 3 weeks, then weekly in dry spells (NC State). In warm zones, give 2 to 3 gallons per inch of trunk width each time (UF/IFAS).

Planting checklist

Call 811 before you dig.
Find the root flare and set it level with the ground or 1 to 2 in above it.
Dig 2 to 3 times as wide as the root ball and no deeper.
Shave the outer inch off a potted root ball or cut circling roots.
Remove burlap, straps, and twine once a balled plant is in the hole.
Backfill with the soil you dug out, no amendments. Water halfway through.
Soak the root ball.
Mulch 3 to 4 in deep for trees, 2 to 3 in for shrubs, kept off the trunk.
Skip fertilizer at planting.
Stake only if needed and remove stakes within a year.

Fruit trees and berries

Bare root fruit trees, berries, and chill hours are on the Fall Fruit Desk.

Guides

Shop Seeds Now for perennial and wildflower seed to fill the bed around a new tree. Some outbound seed-house links may be affiliate links.