Season
When to plant, and when to build, through the year
Two calendars run at once here. Woody plants want fall. Warm-season turf wants late spring. Hardscape mostly wants dry ground, which in this climate is its own scheduling problem.
Fall, for anything woody
UGA Extension is direct about it. Fall is the ideal time to plant most woody trees, shrubs, vines and groundcovers as well as herbaceous perennials, because temperatures are moderate and less stressful than late spring and summer, plants need less frequent irrigation, they are less likely to suffer sun scorch or heat stress, and fall-planted ornamentals keep developing a strong root system even after their tops have gone dormant. The extension guidance goes further and describes fall and winter planting of woody ornamentals as recommended, because there is less demand for water and nutrients at the top and more energy going into root growth.
In Sandy Springs that puts October through early December at the centre of the planting calendar. It is also the busiest booking period of the year for good crews, which is worth knowing in August rather than in November.
The turf calendar, which is different
From UGA Extension Bulletin 1533-2. Tall fescue seeds or sods in September to October, or in late February to March. After mid November, wait until mid February. December seeding and post-April seeding are not recommended. Fescue sod in winter is acceptable, because it is a mature plant going in and Georgia soils rarely freeze.
Warm-season grasses run on soil temperature rather than on the calendar: sow when the temperature at four inches is consistently 65 degrees and rising, which is mid to late spring here, with first to mid August as the general latest date. Sprigging and plugging bermuda, zoysia, centipede and St. Augustine all sit in May and June. UGA warns that dormant sodding of warm-season grasses is the riskier option, with increased winter injury observed on zoysia and centipede against bermuda when sodded late. If a zoysia lawn gets pushed to November, waiting until spring is the cheaper decision.
What can be built when
Hardscape is less seasonal than planting and more sensitive to ground conditions. Walls, patios, steps and drainage can be built through most of the year here, and winter is often a good time to do it because the crews are less stretched and the plants are not in the way.
The constraint is water. NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals for the Atlanta area record just under 50 inches of precipitation a year across about 113 days with measurable rain, and the wettest ground is generally late winter into early spring. Wet clay is bad for compaction, bad for machine access and bad for the surface layer that makes the yard plantable afterwards, so a job that involves getting equipment across a lawn is better scheduled when the ground will carry it.
Month by month
| Period | Good for | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| January to February | Hardscape, dormant pruning, planning and design, fescue sod | Warm-season turf, machine work on saturated ground |
| Late February to March | Tall fescue seed or sod, woody planting as a secondary window | Warm-season turf, which is still too cold |
| April | Bed preparation, hardscape, canopy light assessment once the trees leaf out | Fescue seeding, which is now too late |
| May to June | Warm-season sod, sprigs and plugs, irrigation installation | Woody planting, which faces a Georgia July too soon |
| July to August | Hardscape, drainage, wall work, watching where storm water goes | Almost all planting |
| September to October | Tall fescue, and the start of the main woody planting window | Warm-season turf establishment |
| November to early December | Trees, shrubs and perennials, hardscape | Dormant sodding of warm-season grasses |
Watering a new install, whatever the month
Georgia limits outdoor landscape irrigation to the hours between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m. under O.C.G.A. 12-5-7. New and replanted plant, seed and turf are exempt during installation and for 30 days immediately following the date of installation, which is why the establishment period is not fought against the clock. Drip irrigation, soaker hoses and hand watering with an automatic cutoff or handheld container carry no time limitation at all.
One more reason fall works: a plant going into the ground in October needs less water through establishment than the same plant going in during May, which makes the whole schedule easier on the homeowner as well as on the plant.
Sources
UGA Extension Circular 873, Best Management Practices in the Landscape, for the fall planting recommendation. UGA Extension Bulletin 1533-2, Lawns in Georgia: Establishment, for turf windows and seeding rates. NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson. O.C.G.A. 12-5-7 for the watering schedule and exemptions.