What to Plant in the Fall (Month by Month)

It’s generally been accepted that spring and fall are the best times to plant. But recently, the experts are “warming up” to the idea that fall is the best time to plant in the hot, dry desert. Here’s a look at what to plant in the fall, month by month.

I love fall in the desert. It’s one of the most pleasant times of year and, for gardeners, there’s an extra bonus — it’s the best time of year to add new landscape plants.

I’ve heard many gardening experts contend that you can plant any plant any time of year in the desert southwest. While that might be true for those with serious green thumbs, for the rest of us, this is just asking for disappointment.

I prefer to increase my chances of success by putting a plant in the ground at the time considered ideal instead. Why put your plants and yourself through unnecessary stress?

Before we take a look at the monthly planting guidelines, let’s take a quick look at the benefits of fall versus spring planting.

The Benefits of Fall Planting

Fall is now considered the preferred time to plant most desert landscape plants. And this is becoming more evident as summers get hotter, longer, and drier.

While there are a handful of plants that prefer to be planted in spring (i.e., succulents, citrus, palms), most desert plants do better when planted in the fall. Here’s why.

Fall planting is easier on plants. Even though the days can still be hot, they’re getting shorter. The sun is getting less intense and the nights are cooler. So plants are less likely to struggle after being transplanted.

And importantly, planting in the fall gives your plants three full seasons to establish their root system before the heat of summer arrives.

Spring, on the other hand, is hot, dry, windy, and short. So plants have little time to get established, sometimes only a few weeks, before facing intense heat. In four of the past six years, the first 100-degree day occurred in April.

What to Plant Month by Month

To say you should “plant in the fall” is too general to be useful. The months of fall can vary greatly. September and October are still hot, while December is the coldest month of the year!

So let’s take a look at what to plant as fall progresses.

What to Plant in September (and the case for waiting)

Many gardening references state that September is a good time to plant trees, shrubs, perennials, and winter annuals. They talk about “cooling” temperatures of this month. 🙄

But I disagree.

Many of these recommendations were written years ago, and things have changed. The past few Septembers have been brutally hot. Last September (2024), here in Tucson, we had 16 days over 100. October was almost as hot, with 13 days over 100. That’s a lot of unnecessary heat stress for new plants to face.

So I recommend waiting until mid-October or even November to plant most plants. But there are a few exceptions.

September is a great time to plant cactus, agave, yuccas, euphorbias, and other landscape succulents.

If your potted annuals are looking tired, you can spruce up your containers with “shoulder season” annuals such as sweet alyssum, dianthus, dusty miller, petunia, and snapdragon, preferably towards the end of the month.

If you have a plant that must go in the ground as soon as possible for whatever reason, be extra vigilant about watering and protecting it from the sun.

Learn more about what to do in the garden in September here.

When in doubt… Wait!
If it’s still consistently in the mid 90s or above, wait to plant.
Your plants will be less likely to suffer transplant shock.

What to Plant in October (Peak Planting Month!)

The wait is over. You can finally plant with abandon! October is the overall best month for planting nearly all landscape plants.

Here’s what you can plant this month:

• agaves & yuccas
• citrus trees
• cold weather annuals*
• cold weather herbs & vegetables
• container-grown roses
• deciduous trees (including fruit trees)
• flowering bulbs
• perennials
• shrubs
• trees

*Nurseries sells annuals well before the best time to plant them. Marylee Pangman, Tucson’s leading authority on potted plants and author of Getting Potted in the Desert, recommends waiting until your nighttime lows are consistently in the mid-fifties before planting winter annuals. She’s found through years of trial and error that waiting for cool nights will reward you with happier, healthier, more beautiful plants. Depending on where you live, this may mean waiting until next month to plant winter annuals.

Learn more about what to do in the garden in October here.

What to Plant in November

November is still a great month for planting, and you can continue to add plants to your garden that aren’t frost-sensitive. However, you might find that nursery stock is getting low, and they may have run out of plants you really wanted. I hate that when that happens. 😕

Here’s what you can plant in November:

• aloes
• cold weather annuals
• cold weather herbs & vegetables
• native & cold-hardy shrubs & trees
• ornamental grasses
• spring flowering bulbs

While you can plant citrus trees this month, be prepared to cover them during the winter, since new plants are more prone to frost damage.

Learn more about what to do in the garden in November here.

What to Plant in December

The time has passed to plant anything that is heat-loving or frost-sensitive. Cold soil, short days, and occasional freezes make it hard for these plants to get established. But you can still safely add the following plants to your garden this month:

• bare root deciduous fruit trees
• bare root roses
• cold hardy perennials, shrubs, & trees
• cold weather annuals
• cold weather herbs & vegetables

Learn more about what to do in the garden in December here.

Recommended Reading:
5 Reasons to Plant in the Fall (not Spring)
What to Plant in Spring (Month by Month)

Exceptions to Fall Planting

Your default should be to plant in fall rather than spring, since there aren’t too many plants that prefer spring planting. Here’s the short list of those that do.

• Bare-root fruit trees, grape vines, roses
• Citrus trees
• Cactus, agaves, other succulents
• Palm trees
• Heat-loving plants that are damaged or die back from winter cold

(Citrus and succulents can be successfully planted in the fall, but spring is preferable.)

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