What To Plant Now – Autumn has arrived early at Paramount Plants
Let’s face it – July and August have been rather a wash-out this year in the UK, with cloudy, rainy days for about a month now. For gardens, however, this is fabulous weather and here at Paramount Plants we are advising everyone thinking of planting larger specimen plants, to take advantage of this early Autumn-like weather and start planting trees and shrubs straight away. Our ‘what to plant now’ suggestions below, reflect a fraction of the plants available at our London plant centre, if you have questions please remember our expert team is here to help.
The first part of this year 2017 has been one of the very hottest, driest and windiest on record : February the 9th hottest, April 10th driest, March 5th hottest and June 5th hottest months since earliest records in 1910. Of course, as often happens during a UK Summer, this August 2017 has seen the weather change to cooler and and much wetter conditions and in our opinion Autumn has arrived early this year.
What To Plant Now | Fruit trees are laden with fruits and berries early this year – click to view our fruit collection
This fresher and rainy weather has given our gardens a much needed respite from the earlier heat and drought conditions and have produced the ideal soil conditions for planting – especially if you’re planning to introduce hedging or intend planting mature trees or specimen shrubs .
The perennial debate about when Autumn really starts has been an age-old argument with many conflicting views.
One view that we nurserymen subscribe to, is that Autumn really starts when mother nature alerts us with tell-tale signals; the changing colour of tree foliage, the production of berries and the ripening of autumn fruits – and this is happening in many gardens across the UK right NOW.
What To Plant Now | Deciduous Trees are already changing colour, a sign Autumn has arrived early this year
What To Plant Now – Evergreen Screening and Hedging
An old adage is a week in the ground now is worth a month in the ground in Spring in terms of root growth – happy roots mean happy plants and the soil is in near-perfect conditions this late summer/early autumn. Hedging and privacy screening trees will have a head-start if you plant them now and with many varieties, you can take advantage of planting with rootball hedge plants – a much more cost effective way to plant hedging.
What To Plant Now | Taxus Baccata Evergreen Screening Trees
Plant Now For Spring Flowering
Planning your displays for next Spring? Camellias and Magnolias will be well established if planted now, getting the most benefit from the warm soil of early Autumn and make good preparations for a stunning show early next year. If you’d like some flower colour this winter – don’t overlook the Camellia Sasanquas these stunning shrubs are very early flowering with some varieties that will start blooming as early as December.
Camellias for planting now – Mature Specimen Tree Camellia and Camellia Yuletide – Christmas flowering
In any event, with September just around the corner, the start of the best planting season of the whole year begins, and the most beautiful season of the year as well. Our Japanese Acer trees range from small trees to very large mature specimens that provide instant impact. Plant these incredible trees now for a show-stopping display throughout these Autumn weeks – Acers are renowned for their Autumn foliage colours.
What To Plant Now | Japanese Acer leaves are changing colour, signifying an early Autumn this year
On a final note – Plants planted in the Autumn/early Winter have the very best chance of fully establishing and they require minimum maintenance, during this dormant phase of the year they will be busy establishing themselves for the coming growing season next Spring.
Read more on what to plant now and in the Autumn, in our our dedicated blog on – Best Time To Plant Shrubs and Trees
