Why Fall Is the Ideal Time for Commercial Landscape Planting

When the air gets crisp and you start craving cider, you might think your commercial property landscaping is about done for the season.

Not so fast. Fall is fantastic for planting. 

Why is planting in the fall a great idea for your commercial property? The soil is still warm enough to nurture plant roots. Frequent rain offers free watering. Fall’s cool weather stresses plants less than summer’s searing sun. Plant bulbs in the fall for a spectacular show on your commercial property in the spring. 

Keep reading to learn more about fall landscaping for commercial properties, including:

• Planting in the Fall Offers Warm Soil
• Free Watering!
• Fall Landscape Installation Means Less Stress for Plants
• Roots, Roots, Roots
• Fewer Pests and Diseases
• Grass Loves Fall
• Pansies And Violas Do Double Duty
• Fall Means It’s Time For Bulbs
• Transplant Perennials, Too 

Planting in the Fall Offers Warm Soil

The soil on your commercial property is actually warmer in the fall than it is in the spring, which is great for planting.

The soil temperature is still warm enough — in the mid 50s — that roots can still take hold and get the nutrients they need from the soil. 

Even though the tops of many plants are winding down for the season, the roots are still going strong. So plants can settle in after fall planting and come up strong in spring, ready to impress on your commercial property. 

Fall Rain Offers Free Watering

Planting in the fall takes advantage of the cool, rainy days, which means free water for your newly planted beauties.
 
Fall landscaping on commercial properties needs water for longer than you might think.
 
Even though the sun doesn't beat down in fall the way it does in the summer, your plants still need plenty of water until the ground freezes. In a mixed climate like we have here in the Mid-Atlantic, it stays warmer longer into fall than in areas further north.

While fall rain often is enough to irrigate your plants, some falls are dry, and you need extra irrigation through November. So don’t shut your irrigation system down for the winter too soon. Here at Level Green we generally start winterizations in late October and plan to finish them by December just in case we get an early freeze. 

Fall Landscape Installation Means Less Stress for Plants 

Moving from their cozy pots or balls of burlap into the ground is always a bit stressful for plants. 

While the heat of summer only makes that worse, fall’s cool air provides a nice buffer for them. Just one of the great reasons the best time to plant trees and shrubs is in the cool fall. 

Roots, Roots, Roots

When it comes to a plant’s health, it’s all about the roots. 

Planting in the fall gives a plant, tree or shrub plenty of time to develop its root system before the ground freezes. 

Then, winter provides a nice time of rest before spring coaxes plants back to life, ready for a new season of growth.

Fewer Pests and Diseases

Many pests and diseases that are active on your commercial property in the spring and summer are less prevalent in the fall, giving new plants a chance to establish themselves without battling invasive bugs and fungus. 

Grass Loves Fall 

Didn’t get around to installing sod last spring or summer? It’s not too late. In fact, fall is ideal. 

Hot weather actually stresses new sod. Fall’s cool temperatures are much easier on it, and it can easily absorb all the water it needs to get established.
 
Fall’s cool temperatures and still-warm soil are great for grass seed to settle in, too.

Whether you choose sod or seed, fall landscaping for commercial properties often includes turf renovation. And don’t forget aeration first. 

Aeration uses a machine to pull out tiny cores of soil from your lawn, allowing water and oxygen to get to the roots. The holes created by aeration are perfect new homes for that grass seed. 

Once your lawn is aerated and air, water and nutrients can flow freely, your lawn’s roots can grow nice and deep, producing a lush, healthy carpet of green.

Pansies And Violas Do Double Duty

What to plant in the fall? Plant cheerful yellow and purple pansies and violas and you get a fresh burst of color that will last right through winter and into spring.

These beauties look delicate, but they're sturdy and resist frost’s icy fingers.

They’ve already been in the ground, developing their root system, so while they might look a little rough by January and February, by spring they’ll come on strong again, beautifying your commercial property. 

What to Plant in the Fall? Make Room for Mums

Everybody loves mums, the fluffy flower stars of fall. Their spectacular colors, in orange, bronze, red, purple, lavender, pink, and yellow will keep your commercial property captivating through autumn’s chill. 

Be strategic in your planting, including early, mid, and late-season varieties, and your property will impress with  wow-worthy color for months.

Use mums everywhere you want a burst of fall color — 
at entrances; around signage; in planters for up-close impact. Use them in everything from borders to window boxes to hanging baskets. 

Fall Means It’s Time For Bulbs

Fall is also the time to plant tulip, daffodil and crocus bulbs for a dazzling display of color come spring.

Spring bulbs are a natural for commercial landscape planting, shouting the blissful arrival of spring in riotous hues of red, yellow, purple, pink, coral and blue. They’re the first thing your visitors, tenants and customers see in the spring, before other flowers appear. 

You don’t have to look too hard here at Level Green Landscaping to find bulb super fans, including the company’s managing member and head gardener Doug Delano, who has personally planted close to 50,000 daffodils and tulips at his home in Maryland.

Just a fraction of that number can make a huge impact on your commercial property as part of your fall landscape installation. 

Plant spring bulbs from the end of September through October, in high visibility spots throughout your commercial property, from entrances to signage to huge impressive masses in beds and borders. 

If you have perennial beds on your property, filled with plants like ornamental grasses, daylilies, and rudbeckia, underplant them with bulbs. As the season goes on, those plants hide the fading foliage from the bulbs. 

Think big. You’ll need hundreds of bulbs, not dozens, to make an impressive impact.

Level Green crews hand plant about 100,000 spring bulbs each fall as part of fall landscape installation. 

Transplant Perennials, Too 

Your perennial plants are the hardest workers in your commercial property landscaping. As they keep coming back dependably year after year, looking great, they actually get bigger and more plentiful.

That means they need dividing and transplanting every few years in order to stay vibrant and healthy. And fall is the perfect time for this task. 

Bonus: dividing and transplanting perennials leaves you with more plants — perfect for adding to other high-visibility places on your commercial property. 

Trust Your Fall Planting To Level Green

At Level Green Landscaping, we know there are lots of benefits of fall landscape installation, so we’re busy throughout the season, getting grass, perennials, trees and shrubs safely tucked into the ground during this ideal planting weather.

If you’re not already a Level Green Landscaping client, we’d love to add you to our growing list of happy customers. Our focus is on commercial properties like offices, mixed-use sites, HOAs, municipalities and institutions in Maryland, Washington DC and parts of Virginia.

Contact us at 202-544-0968. You can also request a free consultation online to meet with us one-on-one.

We’d love to hear from you.