Sometimes you just want your questions answered in a short and sweet format. No scrolling through long lines of copy outlining instructions or information that while you may benefit from it later, doesnt pertain to your pressing search at the moment. “Shorts”, this is that format.
Can I Plant Bushes in the Month of August?
I came across several searches asking whether it is advisable to plant shrubs (bushes) in the month of August. Presuming that the searcher lives in the northern hemisphere, in the USA, they are looking at a hot, sometimes dry time of year in the garden.
Answers for Northern Gardens
You alone can truly answer this quandary by answering a few questions for yourself.
- Are you willing (and able) to water the new shrub throughout the rest of the month and possibly into the next one or two ( whever dependable rains arrive in your area).
- What is the ten day forecast for your weather? Is it unusually hot with no rain predicted?
- Is your area going through a drought?
Those would be the top three pieces of information that will tell you whether or not you can plant bushes in the month of August.
Here’s Why August Is Not the Best Time for Planting
- Every new shrub needs water at their roots as they take hold. They just don’t have roots that can reach very far yet, and have suffered a bit of trauma when newly planted. If it is hot and dry… or just hot, they will need the gardener to water them sometimes more than the usual twice a week or so. If you will be unwilling or unable to go outside for long enough to give them such attention, wait until September to plant.
- Very hot weather, especially when the soils are dry already creates a difficult condition for new shrubs to grow well. it is also very uncomfortable to NEED to go out into the garden for chores. Through the years I have to say that watering during very dry conditions in my least favorite, possibly hated, job. It depends on how much I have to drag a heavy hose around the garden.
- If you have drought conditions, likely there are water restrictions. It is not a good time to plant anything in that case.
If you have normal conditions in a place that usually gets regular rainfall, like the Northeast, Ohio and other places in the Midwest, etc. August is often a time to transplant perennials like German iris, peonies, fall vegetable gardens, and yes, shrubs. Not idea, but possible.
Usually people think about planting in this last hurrah of summer because of plant material on sale or appearing in the stores. If you are eager to take starts of bushes or plant pots that you purchase, it might be better to keep them in a protected spot, watering the containers daily or as needed until the better season of September arrives.
Gardening in the South
I have moved to the Deep South, and would personally not desire to work in the heat, let alone try to keep new shrubs alive in the hot and humid temperatures of the South. However, if waiting until early fall, that might be the ideal time to buy shrubs and plant. Use August to kill weeds and watering the new things planted in spring.
