Just before I started writing this column, I was outside. Ugh! It is overcast and cooling down. Rain is in the forecast. All of this weather information tells me winter is on its way. Brrrrrrr.

Most gardeners are picking the last of the vegetables out of the garden before this coming freeze. They are mulching around trees and shrubs outside to protect them from the coming cold weather. But not many gardeners are thinking about planting anything.

I would like to suggest this is a great time to plant deciduous trees and shrubs. If you don't know, deciduous means the leaves fall off of the trees and shrubs during the late fall and regrow next spring.

There are a lot of reasons why now is a good time to plant deciduous trees and shrubs. First, these plants lose their leaves at this time of the year. With the loss of leaves the plant will not need a lot of moisture to keep alive during the winter months.

As you know it takes a lot of time for a newly planted plant to have its roots get well established in the new soil. During this time it is important for the gardener to keep an eye on the new plant to make sure that it receives adequate moisture until the roots become well established and can "find" moisture for themselves. During the winter there is little need for moisture to be "found" in the soil because there are no leaves on the deciduous trees to lose it through.

During the planting process soils are disturbed and loosened up. It takes a while for the disturbed soil to become packed around the roots. The soil must be packed around the roots for the best root environment for the newly planted landscape plant. By planting in the fall, the soil has plenty of time to become compact around the roots. This is necessary for the plants to absorb moisture and nutrients from the soil

Make sure when planting you add peat moss to the soil dug out of the hole. This will add soil amendments that will encourage rapid soil compaction around the newly planted roots.

You also need to water in the newly planted plant with a high phosphorous water soluble fertilizer added to the water. This will tell the new plant to spend its energy at first growing roots before it starts to grow a lot of leaves.

I hope this information will assist you in planting in the fall and will help you get great results.