New border question

I have double-dug two new borders and am feeling quite pleased with myself as it was pretty hard work. The soil is sandy, so I've dug in lots of farmyard manure and a couple of handfuls of bonemeal. Although the soil is largely in big lumps, they are very easy to break down.

My question is.............should I plant all the plants waiting patiently in their pots NOW (whilst it's still mild)? Or should I wait for winter frosts etc. to break the soil down further and plant in the Spring?

Advice would be greatly appreciated - thanks.

 

I would go for it now Tiarella. It sounds as though you can break the lumps down by hitting them with a spade, so that you can get a semblance of a smooth surface. The frost and the worms will do the job of breaking down the soil and mixing it up for you.

The ground is still warm and will allow the plants to establish themselves a bit before winter. Its surprising how some plants grow even during very cold weather. You only have to think of snowdrops and crocuses. Also the plants will be a bit less vulnerable to the frosts if they are in the ground than they would be in pots.

Another small point is that it will be warm and pleasant doing it now, whilst early in spring, when you know you should be doing it, it could be very cold and uninviting. The only time I could see an advantage of waiting, would be if you had horrendous weed problems. Then it could be an advantage to leave the soil fallow for a bit, raking it regularly so as to remove the weeds as they appeared.

I am currently doing something similar myself. I am in the process of totally lifting my front garden. Splitting the plants and weeding very thoroughly. I read that the big famous gardens do that every third or fourth year. Unfortunately I started very late; it was rather a spur of the moment thing. There is a lot of work involved and I am not sure that I will manage to lift it all in time to replant this autumn.

 

Yep, do it now!

Peter- Isnt your front garden quite densely planted?
I salute you. Wow.

 

I would not myself I would be to scared of an unexpected freeze. It's the 1st November.....but then I do have a very cautious nature :D
Spring would be my choice.

 

I would definitely do it now, the soil will still be warm enough and with recent rain it will be damp too, plants will get their roots down now and then get away quicker in the spring.

Even if we get a couple of light frosts the soil is still going to be warmer than after a long cold winter (if we get it again), it would be well into spring before the soil warms up to a similar level that it would be at now :thumb:

 

I would do it now too Definitely more inviting this time of year, and still plenty of time to get going I've still got a few bits to put in myself this weekend.

 

I would wait till spring .... (all my new landscape jobs are on hold till spring)

last year we had the coldest winter in 100 years .... the weather has been messed up this year and we may get an even colder winter .... snowing in the USA at the moment, so the cold spell should be here within the next week or so

many well established plants and shrubs were lost, including corydlines that were 20+ years old and several meters high ... and many people lost hardy palms etc

I had a very interesting discussion with a landscaper a few weeks ago ... (he spent several years studing horticulture) ... I specifically asked him if autum was the best time to plant

his answer was that 100+ years ago, plants were not sold in pots .... gardeners had to dig them out of the ground and transplant them immediately into the gardens that it was earmarked for

so, the best time to do this (transplant) is in autumn, when the plants start going dormant .... he says he still continues to plant during this time, as this is his bread and butter ... so he sidestepped my question in a roundabout way .... never pushed him further

nowadays, plants and shrubs are bought in pots .... if you can overwinter them in a greenhouse or a protected area, it makes no sense (to me) to risk loosing it as some plants cost a lot of money nowadays

so, I'd wait for spring .... plant gets several months of decent weather to establish before the next cold spell (and if the plant is not rootbound in the pot, the roots still develop)

but saying that, if one googles, there are numerous sites saying that now is the best time to plant

 

Many thanks for all your replies and I think I will go with the general consensus of opinion, i.e. plant now. Getting the plants in whilst it's still mild enough for them to get their roots down makes sense to me, as does the thought that they'll survive any frosts better in the ground than in pots - so I'll spend the next couple of days getting them planted!

 

How very GC , a completely split vote :D
I would do it now Its only just turned November and its very mild at least for the next 2 weeks. I'll be planting a couple of things this weekend ,its a good idea to put a 2 or 3 inch mulch layer around your new plantings.

 

What plants are they Tiarella? :D

 

Melinda - yes - it is quite densely planted - and its taking me some time.

Tiarella - If you have borderline hardy plants, I think Dim is right - its safer to winter them under glass. But if they are normal hardy plants then I think they won't mind. I always have a load of hardy plants that spend the winter outside in small pots, because I haven't got space for them or haven't got round to planting them. Even last winter I lost virtually none of them.

By the way - I don't do expensive plants. All my plants are either from seed, cuttings or divisions - so perhaps I am more cavalier.

 

I'd be inclined to get the plants in now too, while the ground is warmer. Also, the last two springs here we've had drought, which wouldn't help planting them at that time.

 

The plants I have primed and ready are: foxgloves, alstromeria, one large, blue lupin, two clematis, a couple of malva and some hardy geraniums.

These all started life as either cuttings, seeds or self-seeded themselves (foxgloves).

 

Sounds like a real nice mix

 

The only slightly dodgy one, to my mind, is Alstromeria. I have had mixed success with them - but I am much further north. Certainly, the Lupins and Foxgloves I grow as biennials and always plant around this time of the year. They have to wait till the tender perennials - Dahlias and Salvias have finished.

Hardy Geraniums are just that - hardy. I am lifting and dividing some currently. Malva is pretty tough - its rust that is the problem for me.