How Late in the Year Can I Plant Trees, Shrubs and Perennials in Colorado?
NOVEMBER 23, 2024 . Jill Livingston
It never fails, after running a design/build and garden maintenance company for almost 25 years in Denver-metro Colorado how many plants we have left over in our back lot as we wrap up the field season. Time gets away from us and the dried out, dead plants unhappily greet us in the new year when we’re tidying things up and getting ready for spring. It’s always disheartening as it’s a waste of money and missed opportunity.
This year, although it’s late November, I’m determined to not leave any plants behind without a home! You may ask, “hey crazy plant lady, isn’t it too late to plant in late November?”
As you may know, fall is the best time to plant, even better than spring. Trees, shrubs, and perennials are entering their dormant period. In other words, they’re getting ready to hibernate for the winter which means all their resources and energy are stored in their roots. Evergreens are the exception as they continue to growduring the winter. You can still plant evergreens late in the fall season, but it’s particularly important that you water them throughout the winter since they’ll continue to grow. That said, the general rule for winter watering in Colorado is that it is only necessary if we go more than two weeks without precipitation. If we have a dry winter, which we often do, water manually with a garden hose in the middle of the day when the temperature is above 40 degrees, and the water has time to soak into the soil before freezing. If the ground is frozen – do not water. Also, consider using a deep root watering attachment for trees and shrubs.
So how late in the year can you plant in Colorado? Believe it or not, you can continue to plant well into December, depending on mother nature. If you can still penetrate the soil with a shovel, you should put those plants in the ground rather than letting them languish in containers unplanted through the winter. In fact, last year our field crew finished a large landscape installation on December 22nd. The soil in your landscape is the ultimate insulator for plant roots. The other option is crossing your fingers and hoping the plants survive the winter in a plastic container. From my decades of experience, get those plant babies in the earth and you won’t regret your late season planting efforts next spring!
