Fall-Interest Plants

According to Sean, ornamental cabbages and kales give you the most bang for your buck. These long-lasting plants are “as good as it can get.”

The fall season presents a window of opportunity for gardeners… In fact, according to Sean, our horticulture guru here at The Gardener’s Center, the fall season is, in almost every way, better for planting than the spring. That includes planting trees, shrubs, perennials and grass seed.

Sean’s observation is that people have a tendency to NOT touch these in the fall, right when they should. Sean says NOW is the time to prune them. Why? Unlike the mopheads, the Paniculatas only flower on new growth. So the more you prune them back, the more growth you’re going to stimulate.

Three late-blooming native perennials we’re focusing on here are members of the asteraceae—or aster—family. These are all native to a good part of North America, east of the Mississippi River, from Maine down to the Gulf Coast. They’re also faves of all of here at The Gardener’s Center.

Overlooked in the spring and summer, it’s now time for the fall-blooming native perennials to shine. And let’s be clear, these aren’t overlooked because they’re bad plants, but because they’re not brightly blooming at those times.