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Fall is a good time for planting just about anything in your landscape.

As days become shorter and weather becomes colder, plants go into a dormant state and require less water. When a plant is dormant, the process of digging it up, moving it and transplanting it somewhere else becomes less stressful for the plant. If we dug up the same plant in the summer when it was transpiring water, it would quickly wilt and desiccate because we cut roots that were actively taking up water that was needed to support the leaves and food-making process in the plant. As woody plants shed leaves and store energy (sugars made in the leaves) they also begin to grow new roots which will help fall transplants get established.

Fall also can be a good time to find discounts at nurseries that want to get rid of their inventory and don't wish to overwinter their plant material. As with any discounted item, it is best to check for damage (especially to the root system) and quality of the product. Make sure the discounted plants you are purchasing were watered throughout the summer and were not allowed to dry out in their containers.

Check the roots of the plants by removing them from the container and making sure they don't look dried out or blackened (healthy root tips are white). Also check for circling roots that have hit the container and turned. They will lead to stem girdling issues and declining plant health down the road.

If there on not too many large circling roots, the problem can be corrected by cutting them at the time of planting. Cutting and manipulating roots that were grown in a container is a good practice because it will initiate new root growth that will grow in the existing soils.

There are a few tree species such as black gum, hornbeam, birch, beech, white oak, hickory, walnut, holly and sweet gum that don't transplant well in the fall. They tend to go dormant very late in the fall and cutting roots to transplant them is best left to early spring, before bud break.

Transplanting evergreens such as pine, spruce and fir in late fall can also be a problem and lead to winter injury or browning and foliar desiccation from dry winter winds. When planting evergreens in the fall it is extremely important to water them weekly until the ground freezes (which is often late December or sometimes January). An anti-desiccant (a waxy polymer) can also be sprayed on fall-transplanted evergreens to help protect the needles from losing moisture during the dry winters.

Once you have selected some quality plants to add to your landscape this fall, make sure you know how to plant them. All too often, trees and shrubs are planted too deep, causing them to struggle to get established and leading to future problems such as girdling roots and early death.

For more information about proper planting techniques visit the Penn State Extension website at; download "Planting Ornamentals" at or contact your local county extension office.

VINCENT COTRONE is a Penn State Extension urban forester.