Tree & Shrub

Many gardeners choose the fall to transplant new deciduous (non-evergreen) trees and shrubs. The exceptions to fall planting are magnolia, birch, beech, tulip tree, sweet gum and flowering dogwood. These are better transplanted in spring. Also, among shrubs, butterfly bush is best moved in spring.

October is a choice month for planting evergreens. No need to prune when transplanting them, since they continue growing during the winter months. Also, continuous watering is not necessary, but mulch is recommended.

Keep newly planted deciduous trees and shrubs moist to encourage root growth. Make sure they are well mulched and that small or vulnerable branches are supported against damaged from wind or heavy snow or ice.

Fall colors are best when the weather cooperates. For leaves to turn scarlet, gold, yellow, orange, red and purple, trees need cool nights followed by warm, bright, sunny days. But, trees also need to be healthy, and should be in open areas where they get plenty of sunlight. Another factor that helps create glorious fall color is the delay of a hard freeze. Leaf color tends to be poor during fall seasons when there has been mostly cloudy, rainy and warm weather, and when there has been an early hard freeze.

In deciding what new deciduous tree to plant, consider its fall color. Here are some examples.

	Red - amur maple, Chinese elm, dogwood, hawthorn, Japanese maple, Japanese mountain ash, Japanese pagoda, pin oak, red maple, red oak, sugar maple, sassafras, scarlet oak, service berry, shingle oak, sumac, sour wood, sugar maple, sweet gum, tupelo, white poplar.
	Orange - buckeye, crab apple, dogwood, Korean ash, service berry, red maple, silver maple, sour gum, sugar maple and yellowwood.
	Yellow - ash, beech, birch, box elder, crab apple, butternut, Chinese chestnut, Chinese elm, larch, linden, locust, hackberry, hickory, horse chestnut, Norway maple, pecan, poplar, redbud, Russian olive, service berry, shingle oak, sweet gum, sycamore, tulip tree, walnut, willow, willow oak and yellowwood.
	Purple - ash, white oak.

Trees that usually retain their leaves during the winter are pin oak, scarlet oak, shingle oak, post oak and ironwood. These trees will shed their leaves in the spring.

	This time of year, some white pines drop their needles from two- or three-year-old wood, as do scotch pines, but this is normal.
	To keep rabbits and other chewing rodents from damaging the bark of certain trees, wrap the trunks with cloth or a binding made especially for this purpose. Rabbits tend to like nibbling on fruit trees, flowering crabapple, flowering quince, pussy willow, euonymus, ginkgo, viburnum and dogwood.