Transitioning Your Summer Planters to Fall

Fall is undoubtedly one of the most visually impressive seasons, filling our landscapes with rich colors and gorgeous textures.

 

As we say goodbye to the August heat and embrace the cool autumn days, it’s time to shift our focus from summer annuals to more seasonally appropriate garden displays. Much of this process involves deciding which annuals to remove from your planters and which to clean up and keep, but, most importantly, it also gives you the opportunity to bring a new repertoire of fall annuals into your garden. Here are a few fresh flower ideas, along with a step-by-step guide to help you with the transition! 

   

What Can I Do with Summer Planters in the Fall?

One of the hardest parts of seasonal garden design can be figuring out which annuals to keep and which to do away with until next year. Here are a few pointers to help make this decision-making process easier:

 

• Bid Farewell to Spent Summer Annuals 

First things first, it’s time to say goodbye to those tired-looking summer annuals that simply won’t thrive in autumn’s cooler temperatures. If any of your flowers’ blooming has slowed or stopped altogether, it’s time to thank them for their work and bid them a kind farewell. Even if a few of your summer annuals still look good, you may still want to take the opportunity to create new displays by switching them out for something fresh!

 

• Keep Attractive Plants for the Fall 

With that said, you don’t have to remove all of your container plants and start from scratch each fall. Certain summer annuals, like geraniums and petunias, will continue to flower through the first frost and beyond. To transition them to a new season, it’s a good idea to cut out any dead foliage, trim back any leggy growth, and prepare them for a new display. 

Likewise, you can keep ornamental grasses, creeping Jenny, sweet potato vines, vinca vines, ivy, and any other plants that are still looking good. These common ‘spiller’ and ‘thriller’ plants will be handy when it comes to rounding out your fall planter displays!   

  

What Can I Use in My Pennsylvania Fall Planters? 

With a new season comes new annuals to steal the spotlight. Here are some of our favorite plant ideas for your fall planter displays! 

• Ornamental Cabbages & Kale: Who knew vegetables could be so fashionable? These leafy wonders boast vibrant hues of purples, pinks, and whites, making them perfect for adding texture and interest to your fall displays. Plus, they easily withstand light frost.

 

• Chrysanthemums (Mums): The quintessential fall flower, mums are available in various colors and bloom shapes. Pop them into your containers, and they’ll be the showstoppers of your next fall garden party.

• Asters: These daisy-like blooms come in shades of pink, purple, and blue, and they’ll keep the pollinators happy while gracing your containers with their elegance.

• Ornamental Grasses: The graceful plumes of ornamental grasses dance in the autumn breeze, adding texture and movement to your planters. Plus, they make great ‘thrillers’ or centerpieces of a fall display.

 

• Pansies: These delightful little flowers come in a kaleidoscope of colors, and they don’t mind chilly temperatures one bit. Plant them in your containers, and they’ll greet you with a smile even when the weather turns frosty.

Other good candidates for fall displays include dianthus, violas, black-eyed Susan’s, and ornamental peppers. 

 

Display Tips for Fall Planters in Pennsylvania 

Fall is undoubtedly one of the most visually impressive seasons, filling our landscapes with rich colors and gorgeous textures. Here are some planter design tips to help you make the most of this stunning season! 

• The Rule of Three: The rule of three uses the idea that containers with small groupings of plants are more visually impactful than those with a single plant. Moreover, it’s based on the principle that planter displays organized in groups of three plantings are more attractive than those with even numbers. Placing your plants in groups of three creates a sense of balance and harmony and avoids the formality and potential awkwardness of symmetrical displays.  

• Thriller, Spiller, Filler: If you’ve ever designed a planter display before, you’ve probably come across the tried and true thriller-spiller-filler strategy. This design method uses a focal point (thriller), plants spilling over the edge of the pot (spillers), and interesting plants that fill in space (fillers) to create dynamic planter displays. While you don’t have to follow this design style exactly, it’s still useful for reminding you of the various dimensions you can use in your display.

 

• Abundance: Normally, you leave room in your garden for your plants to grow throughout the season. However, that extra room isn’t necessary in a fall planter because the plants won’t expand much. Instead, you can pack it full of plants, arranging them close together to create a look of abundance.

• Add Fall Decor: Flowers aren’t the only things to include in an attractive fall display. Pumpkins, gourds, straws, corn stalks, and other fall decor are all elements that add touches of seasonal interest to your autumn planters. 

 

Caring For Your Fall Container Garden 

Caring for your planters during fall’s cool and sometimes unpredictable days is much different than during the heat of summer. Here are things to keep in mind as you take care of your planters throughout the autumn: 

• Water: While fall days can still be warm, the nights tend to get cooler, so you’ll want to adjust your watering routine accordingly. Keep a close eye on your planter’s soil moisture and aim to water it when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch. Be cautious not to overwater, as soggy soil can lead to root rot. Proper fall watering tips are essential for helping your plants survive the winter months.

• Fertilizing: Since plant growth slows down in the fall, you don’t want to overstimulate them with heavy doses of fertilizer. A slow-release or liquid-balanced fertilizer applied at half the recommended strength every 4-6 weeks should suffice.

 

• Frost: If frost is in the forecast, take preemptive action and move your planters closer to the house or under a sheltered spot to protect them. Covering your containers with frost cloth or old blankets during frosty nights is another effective way to preserve their blooms and foliage throughout the fall. 

Autumn is one of if not the most beautiful and majestic times of the year, colored by rich seasonal flowers and accented by the bold and ever-changing foliage from our trees, native grasses, and shrubs. Creating fall container gardens is a fantastic way to bring all the incredible colors and textures of this wonderful season right to your back porch in compact and stunningly-dynamic displays. Visit us at Primex Garden Center to discover the abundance of Autumn hues and textures for the Fall season!