By Karen Parr-Moody
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – While many gardeners consider May the time to start planting, there’s actually a trade secret among green thumbs: Plant perennials in the fall because it is better for establishing the plants’ roots.
That is one of the reasons the Montgomery County Master Gardeners are hosting a plant sale from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27 on the sidewalk in front of the Clarksville Public Library, 350 Pageant Lane.
Longtime master gardeners Phil and Judie Greenawalt will be among those selling their plants and trees. They have exactly two redbuds for those who arrive early, along with hostas, daylilies, beautyberry bushes, cutleaf coneflowers, native orange coneflower, which is redechia, blue lobelia, butterfly bushes, bee balm and more.
Both Judie and Phil laugh after listing off what all they plan to bring to the sale.
“It’s almost a nursery,” Judie says.
While some of the master gardeners will bring annuals, such as mums, the plants will mostly be perennials. Here’s why: The cool temperatures of fall, along with increased rainfall, conspire together to create well-established roots in a plant. The roots can still grow until the ground freezes, thus using that time to bring in nutrients without summer’s stressful droughts and heat. When spring arrives, these plants will put on a healthy show.
The sale’s plants are grown in the master gardeners’ own yards and, due to this, are suited for this region./Karen Parr-Moody
The Greenawalts, who have around 2,000 plant species in their garden, follow this strategy.
“We grab them up cheap in the fall,” says Phil. “Then in the spring they’re coming up nice and strong.”
The fall sale has been going on for five years. Prices typically range from $1 to $5, with a few exceptions for those that justify a higher price. The sale is known for offering plants that are highly suitable for this region, as they are grown in the master gardeners’ own yards.
“It’s tried and true,” Phil says.
But Phil and Judie have a warning: Try to get to the sale as early as possible.
“There are a lot of people who get there early and start picking and choosing,” Phil says. “They get the pick of the crop.”
There’s your warning. So get your trunk cleaned out and be the early bird at the library this Saturday.
Karen Parr-Moody began a career as a New York journalist, working as a fashion reporter for Women’s Wear Daily, a beauty editor for Young Miss and a beauty and fashion writer for both In Style and People magazines. Regionally, she has been a writer at The Leaf-Chronicle newspaper and currently writes about arts and culture for Nashville Arts magazine each month.