What to Plant in Fall

You might not think of fall as a great time for planting, but it is! The air is cool, the soil is warm, and your garden is just begging to put down new roots. There's less heat, fewer threats of disease and pests, and a chance to give tree and shrub roots a head start before showtime next spring. Ready to learn about all the cool—including vegetables, annual and perennial flowers—you can plant in fall? You've got this!

Fall Veggies & Herbs

Unless you live in a place like Arizona or Florida where seasonal changes don't mean much, the trick to a productive fall vegetable garden is to get the estimated first frost date for your region and then count back from there. Chinese cabbage, for instance, needs about 50 days until it's ready to harvest, so it should be planted about 2 months before your first frost date. To get a jumpstart on the season, consider planting strong, vigorous plants from Bonnie Plants®. Also, you can experiment with hardy and semi-hardy cool season crops, such as kale and collard, which can survive a few nips of frost—and may even taste better because of them!

When you plant your veggies and herbs in Miracle-Gro® soils (think Miracle-Gro® Potting Mix for pots, Miracle-Gro Organic™ Raised Bed & Garden Soil for in-ground) and feed them with Miracle-Gro® plant food (Miracle-Gro® Shake 'N Feed Tomato, Fruit & Vegetable Plant Food is a great choice for fall vegetables) you'll get an amazing harvest to carry you into the cooler months. Who says you can only load your table down with fresh food in summer?

Herbs: cilantro*, chives*, parsley*, sage*, thyme*

Semi-hardy vegetables: beets, carrots, cauliflower*, celery*, Chinese cabbage*, endive, Irish potatoes, lettuce*, radicchio, rutabaga*, Swiss chard*

Hardy vegetables: broccoli*, Brussels sprouts*, cabbage*, collards*, English peas*, kale*, kohlrabi*, leeks*, mustard greens*, radishes*, spinach*, turnips

*available from Bonnie Plants®

Fall Flowers

Autumn flowers can be divided into 2 categories: annuals for instant autumn bloom gratification and perennial plants that will flourish for seasons to come. An annual, such as mum, pansy, viola, or ornamental kale, is perfect for a pop of color for the season. A fall perennial, which can live and thrive for years, should be selected based on your hardiness zone for the coldest temperature that it can withstand. Fall is also the right time to think about spring color by planting bulbs like crocus, tulips, and daffodils.

For maximum color and blooms, plant your annuals and perennials in Miracle-Gro® Potting Mix (containers) or Miracle-Gro® Garden Soil for Flowers (in-ground) and feed them with Miracle-Gro® Water Soluble Bloom Booster® Flower Food—then prepare to be amazed.

Annuals for fall: mum, pansy, viola, ornamental kale, chrysanthemum, calibrachoa, petunia, purple fountain grass

Perennials with fall color: sedum, coral bells, coreopsis, gaillardia, black-eyed Susan, salvia, allium, sweet flag, blue star

Spring bulbs to plant in fall: crocus, daffodil, narcissus, hyacinth, tulip (find out more about planting spring bulbs in fall right here)

Fall Trees and Shrubs

Nothing evokes fall vibes more than trees changing their color from green to deep red, warm gold, and brilliant orange. What you may not realize is that fall is also a great time to plant most trees, whether they change color with the seasons or not. When you plant them after summer's punishing heat has passed, trees and shrubs can focus on growing roots deep into the soil instead of spending energy on producing new leaves, flowers, and fruit. Fall isn't just about beautiful color for trees—though many of our recommendations below have it—but also deep, healthy root growth that supports your trees all year.

Plant trees in early to mid-fall so they have time to grow roots before the first freeze in your area. To create the best environment for roots to grow, improve the soil with Miracle-Gro® Garden Soil for Trees & Shrubs and continue to water your newly planted trees and shrubs until the ground freezes. Mulch around your new trees and shrubs with Miracle-Gro Organic® All Natural Mulch to help protect against the coming cold (but leave a little space between mulch and plants). Then, in the spring, give roots a follow-up feast by poking a few Miracle-Gro® Tree & Shrub Plant Food Spikes into the soil, following guidelines on the label for the size of your plant.

Trees: Chinese pistache, maple, Japanese maple, fruit trees, dogwood, honey locust, linden, pine, spruce

Shrubs: Hydrangea, beautyberry, sweetshrub, blueberry, spirea, viburnum, sumac