Planting Ornamental Plum in Mid Summer

Q. Would it be safe to plant a flowering plum tree in September or October or should I wait until spring?

This plum will look fairly good in this climate if the soils are amended at the time of planting and the soil is covered with about 4 - 6 inches of woodchips

A. I would wait until maximum daytime temperatures dropped down to the low 90s or high 80s. In Las Vegas that would probably be late September or early October. I would be comfortable planting trees until about 1 November.

Summer temperatures are just too hot for planting

            There are plants that like to be put in the ground when it’s hot. Palms are an example. They don’t like to be planted when it’s cold. The cut off for planting hybrid Bermudagrass is the end of July. It needs about two months of hot weather to knit into the soil.

            Actually, Fall is an ideal time to plant if you can find the plants you want. Fall planting gives you two times when the weather is nice; fall and the following spring.

            If you find a tree on sale now it will take a lot of diligence to keep it from getting damaged because of the heat. I would put it on the east side of the building and make sure it gets protection from the late afternoon sun. Or put it in filtered light.

            If it’s in a 5 gallon container, I would water it twice each day; once in the morning before it gets hot and the second time in the afternoon. Don’t let direct sunlight directly on the container. The surface temperature will heat up to about 160° F in just a few minutes. It can kill half of the roots inside the container facing the sun.

            Get a second container the same size and put some large rocks in the bottom and put the containerized plant inside of it. It’s called double potting. That will help keep the heat off it.