Basic Gardening – Understanding Dormancy
Due to seasonal changes in weather, many plants have adapted to survive harsh conditions through a process called dormancy. Seasonal environmental changes, such as day length, temperature, and drought, stimulate the transition of a plant from active growth to dormancy in the fall and then reverse the process in the spring. This natural process is essential to the health and survival of our garden plants. We do not want to use gardening practices that interfere with this cycle.
Gardeners should not fertilize in late summer or fall. Fertilizing can stimulate new growth that will not survive the cold winter months. It is okay to fertilize plants in more temperate areas where they will grow throughout the fall and winter.
Gardeners should not water in the fall, unless they are is suffering through a severe drought. Mother Nature will usually take care of herself at this time of the year. If you are having an extremely dry fall, moderate irrigation is appropriate. Excessive watering in the fall can promote new growth and delay dormancy.
Time of year and length of dormancy varies for every location. In the south dormancy starts later and ends earlier. Further north dormancy starts earlier and ends later, and every year is different.
When novice gardeners receive dormant plants, whether they are trees, shrubs, or bulbs, they often misinterpret the dormant plants for being dead. They are not, they are just resting. Even experienced gardeners may plant a dormant plant in the garden or a pot and become concerned that it has not started growing. Usually the plant is still dormant and just needs a little more time to kick off. We see rather large differences among different plants; even different varieties will break dormancy several weeks apart. One good way to check a dormant plant to see if it is still viable is to lightly scratch the bark with you thumb nail or a knife. If you scratch and expose a green layer, the plant is fine!
In the spring when the air temperature has warmed the ground might still be cold or even frozen which will delay a plant from coming out of dormancy. Also, many plants need a certain amount of daylight to start showing signs of new growth. Be patient; dormancy in plants is a peculiar thing, but this is how Mother Nature has taught them to survive.
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