Experts Say Every Gardener Should Add These 3 Trees to Their Yard This Winter

In my part of rural France, gardeners still respect the folklore wisdom they learned from their great grandparents. This one is a favorite: “À la Saint-Catherine, tout bois prend racine.” What that means is, on November 25, the day of Saint Catherine, any tree planted will root and thrive.

This is consistent with the general idea that spring and fall are the best times for planting. And while this is the truth, it's not the whole truth. It is entirely possible to plant trees in winter, especially if your climate is mild and you pick the right tree.

I’ve planted some 250 trees on my land in France and these are three of my favorite types to plant in winter. Plus, I'll share some expert advice about how and when to plant trees to make sure they thrive next spring and summer – and for many years to come.

Best Trees to Plant in Winter

There are a few trees that you can plant in winter and they will grow wonderfully for many years. These are the three types of trees I always recommend people plant in winter for the best results.

1. Ginkgo

Ginkgo trees (Ginkgo biloba) are utterly lovely in the garden. Their unique, bright green fan-shaped leaves turn a canary yellow in autumn, creating a lake of yellow around the base of the tree as they fall.

But a ginkgo is so much more than another pretty face in the garden. It is one of the oldest varieties of trees on earth. For tens of million of years it lived alongside plants and animals now long since extinct. For years, botanists thought it was extinct, too, because the fan-shaped leaves were found only in fossils. Years later, living ginkgo trees were discovered on the grounds of a monastery in China.

The ginkgo is a tough tree with a strong survival instinct. As they age, they grow into giants and develop deep taproots. But while they are young, their root system is simple and shallow. Since the gingko is cold hardy (to USDA zone 4) and will be dormant in winter, December planting is entirely possible.

If you are transplanting a potted or balled and burlapped tree, act after the leaves have fallen but before the ground freezes. If the tree you purchased is bare root, your planting window is wider. You can plant a bare root gingko at any point during their dormancy when the ground is not frozen.

What varieties of ginkgo trees should you try planting? Keep in mind that ginkgo trees are either males or females – and the females grow a fruit that smells just awful. You’ll want to be sure to select a male tree. The best way to do that is to buy one of the “male only” cultivars. Here are three to try:

• 'Autumn Gold' (zones 3 to 8) is perhaps the most popular male-only cultivar – and for good reason. It grows to 50 feet (17 m) tall, with a spread of half the height and its golden fall display is to die for.
• ‘Fastigiata' (zones 3 to 8) is also a male cultivar that rises to the same height as ‘Autumn Gold’ but the canopy is less broad. It’s a terrific columnar tree and a good choice if you want a narrow specimen.
• 'Pendula' (zones 5 to 8) is the way to go if you have a smaller garden. This male cultivar only grows to 8 feet (2.5 m) tall and 10 feet (3 m) wide. The tree is attractive and shaped like an umbrella.

Shop more varieties of ginkgo trees from Fast Growing Trees.

2. Apple

Some fruit trees are cold hardy, including apple trees, and can be planted in winter. Winter planting gives an apple tree the chance to develop roots well before spring, enhancing their growth and spring fruit production.

In fact, old-time gardeners tell me that winter is the ideal time for planting apple trees, increasing the survival rate of apples and maximizing the harvest.

I have four different apple tree cultivars in my garden in France, and there is nothing better than crunching into a ripe fruit plucked right off your own tree. You’ll want to select the cultivar carefully to get a tree that is extremely hardy.

Picking the planting day is equally important. If the ground is frozen, forget it. If it’s an extremely cold day, forget it. Pick a mild winter day to pick up the shovel and select a full-sun site. Four cold-hardy cultivars to consider are:

• ‘Empire’ (zones 4-7) is a hardy apple tree cultivar developed by Cornell University from cold-hardy parents, 'Red Delicious’ and ‘McIntosh'. It offers tip-top disease resistance and the fruit has better flavor than that of either parent: think crisp and sweet.
• ‘Freedom’ (zones 4-7) is another extremely disease-resistant apple cultivar that's also delicious, with a sweet-tart taste. It is related to ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Rome Beauty.’
• ‘Liberty’ (zones 4-7) is a McIntosh-style apple cultivar that is both cold hardy and simple to grow. It is sweet and juicy for munching, but is also a great cider apple.
• ‘Honeycrisp’ (zones 3-7) is perhaps the best known of this short list, known for its crisp flesh and cold hardy nature. It is one of the most popular and most delicious apple varieties available.

Shop a huge variety of apple trees from Fast Growing Trees.

3. Japanese Maple

Who doesn’t love a Japanese maple? They're the cutest of the maples in commerce. They are beloved for their small stature, graceful shape, deeply lobed leaves and glorious fall colors. These are high on the list of trees that can stop you in your tracks with their beauty.

Some Japanese maple tree varieties are sold bare root and appear in garden stores around Christmas time. This is clearly the time to buy since this darling of the ornamental tree world can be very pricey in spring. And bare root is so easy! You get to admire the beautifully branched tree skeleton, yet bring home none of the dirt.

Like all maples, Japanese maples lose their leaves in fall and go dormant – which makes winter planting possible. Select a cold hardy variety and pick a mild winter day to install the tree in your garden. Select a dappled-sun spot with deep, fast-draining soil. These are two of my favorite cold-hardy cultivars:

• ‘Beni kawa’ (zone 4-9) is perhaps the most cold hardy of the Japanese maples, and it’s a real beauty. It’s a tiny dancer, a small upright variety that slowly grows to a maximum height of 15 feet (5 m). Plant Beni kawa, which you can buy on Amazon, in a shady location in a warm climate because its leaves can scorch in full sun.
• ‘Beni tsukasa’ (zone 5-9) will bring you a fantastic color show. It’s also a small variety, but the lobed leaves provide exceptional color as well as new and different shades each season. The leaves appear in spring in a shade between pink and orange, close to salmon. In summer, they deepen to a lush green highlighted with pink. In autumn, they burn red and crimson. You can buy Beni tsukasa on Amazon as well.