Why we plant in October
The soil is still warm, the rain is on its way, and a plant has eight months to settle before the next summer.
- Written by
- Marta Llorens
- Topic
- Planting
- Reading
- 1 min
Spring feels like the time to plant. The garden centres are full, the weather is pleasant, and everything is in flower. On the Mediterranean it is the second best time, and for most plants a distant second.
Warm soil, cool air
In October the soil still holds the heat of the summer, so roots keep growing. The air has cooled, so the leaves lose less water. A plant can put all its energy underground, which is exactly where it needs it.
The rain does the work
Most of the year’s rain falls between October and April. A plant set out in autumn is watered by the sky for months. A plant set out in May gets six weeks of mild weather and then its first summer, with roots no deeper than the pot it came in.
What it means in practice
We plan most planting for October and November, with a second window in February for anything tender. Trees, shrubs, meadows and dry gardens all go in during autumn. Lawns from seed go in by mid October so they are up before the cold.
The spring jobs are lighter: mulching, adjusting the irrigation, and filling the odd gap.
A garden planted in autumn usually looks a year older by its first summer than one planted the spring before.
