What to Plant in October: Bulbs, Veg and Bare-Root Trees

Why October Is a Key Planting Month

If there's one month I'd never want to let slip past me in the garden, it's October. There's a particular magic to it — the air is finally cooling down, the soil is still holding all that lovely warmth from summer, and the heavens have started opening up with those generous autumn downpours that do half your watering for you. It's the gardening equivalent of getting a head start on everyone else.

October is a great time to get ahead and make early sowings of hardy annual flowers and bedding plants, along with vegetable crops like onions, garlic, broad beans and peas. Planting now makes use of bare soil, which can help to prevent soil erosion and hold nutrients into the earth, whilst also giving you earlier crops of vegetables and flowers come spring.

The reason it all works so well comes down to a rather neat combination of conditions. The warm soil from summer gives your plants "warm feet" for root development, the cooling air gives more clement foliage temperatures to prevent stress, and the increasing autumn rainfall provides natural irrigation — which means far less watering for you. Plants established now develop genuinely robust root systems during these ideal growing conditions.

It's also the start of bare-root planting season, and there are massive savings to be had if you get your orders in this month. Beyond the money, planting in October means you beat the spring rush and guarantee the best variety selection before all the popular plants sell out. Make no mistake: October is the final major planting window of the year.

Bulbs: The Star Attraction of October

If you didn't get your bulbs in during September, don't panic — October is prime time, and for some bulbs it's actually the better choice. Spring-flowering bulbs planted now will reward you with weeks of colour when winter finally loosens its grip. Below I've broken down the headline acts, with the planting specs you actually need.

Tulips — The One You Should Plant Late

Tulips are the great exception to the "plant bulbs early" rule, and it's the one thing I'd urge every gardener to remember. Plant tulips from the end of October to December for spring flowers. They should wait until the temperature has dropped — ideally six to eight weeks before the first frost, usually around the end of October or early November in England.

Why the deliberate delay? Growing bulbs in colder weather can help them avoid the fungal disease known as 'tulip fire'. This nasty bit of business — properly called Botrytis tulipae — thrives in warm, damp conditions, and planting too early increases the risk considerably. It causes grey-green lesions on the leaves and petals and stops the plants from flowering altogether. So patience genuinely pays off here.

Plant your tulip bulbs at three times their depth, with the pointed end facing upwards, in well-drained soil in a sunny, sheltered spot in the border — or in a container filled with peat-free multi-purpose compost. There's one hard deadline to keep in mind: if you don't plant your tulips by Christmas, they'll unlikely flower the following year.

Daffodils (Narcissus) — The Forgiving Favourite

If tulips are the fussy ones, daffodils are the easy-going friend who's happy whenever you turn up. Daffodils are forgiving and can go in from September right through to December, though earlier planting in September or October often gives the best results. So October sits comfortably in the sweet spot.

Planting depth is two to three times the bulb's height, which usually works out at 10–15cm, with the pointed end facing up. If you're going for pots, choose one about 30–45cm deep and fill it with peat-free, multi-purpose compost. You can plant bulbs much closer together in pots than in the ground, but do avoid them touching the sides of the pot or each other.

For varieties, the towering King Alfred and the cheerful early-flowering February Gold are both dependable performers. Daffodils naturalise beautifully under trees or in grass, so they're perfect if you want a low-effort drift that comes back stronger each year.

Crocuses — Small Bulbs, Big Impact

Crocuses are wonderful little harbingers of spring, and they're cheap enough to plant in proper quantity — which is exactly what you should do. They should be planted between September and November for best results, but can go in as late as December if stored correctly.

Plant crocus bulbs 5–10cm deep with the shoots facing upwards, spacing them between 5–15cm apart from each other. They look their absolute best planted in small clusters or groups. Site them in moist but well-drained soil in full sun — you can grow crocus at the front of a border, naturalised in grass, or in pots.

One lovely bonus is the autumn-flowering saffron crocus, which gives you something to plant and harvest. Plant it about 10cm deep in well-drained, rich soil in a sunny situation, spacing the corms 7.5cm apart.

Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) — Your Indoor Festive Showstopper

Not everything in October goes outside. Amaryllis is the bulb to pot up indoors now for spectacular flowers over the festive season. They take about six weeks from planting to start sending up flower stems, so October planting times them rather nicely for Christmas.

You can plant Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) bulbs indoors from autumn until early in the new year. They take eight weeks to flower from planting, so if you're aiming for a specific Christmas centrepiece, planting in early November will hit the mark — adjust your timing depending on exactly when you want those blooms to open.

More Bulbs Worth Getting In Now

Vegetables to Plant in October

This is where October really earns its keep for the kitchen gardener. Getting hardy crops in now means they establish roots over autumn, sit quietly through winter, and burst into growth far earlier than anything you sow in spring. You're effectively buying yourself a head start of several weeks.

The beauty of all four of these is that they make use of that otherwise-bare soil, locking nutrients into the ground and reducing erosion over the wet months. They're low-maintenance too — October's rainfall does most of the watering, and the cooling temperatures keep the plants from stressing whilst their roots get established.

Bare-Root Trees and Shrubs: Season Begins

For me, this is the most underrated reason to be excited about October. The bare-root season kicks off this month, and it's the single best way to plant trees, hedging, roses and fruit on a budget. Because the plants are sold dormant and without a pot of compost, you save dramatically compared to potted equivalents — and they tend to establish just as well, if not better.

The principle is simple: deciduous plants are lifted whilst dormant over the cooler months and sold with their roots bare. Planted into October's warm, moist soil, they put down roots over autumn and winter, ready to power away in spring. Getting your orders in this month means you secure the varieties you want before the popular ones sell out.

October Planting at a Glance

If you want the whole month boiled down into one reference table, here it is. I keep something very like this pinned up in my shed.

How October Stacks Up Against Other Planting Months

It's worth understanding where October sits in the gardening year, because timing is everything with the jobs above. Here's how the autumn months compare for the key tasks.

How I'd Rate October as a Planting Month

Having spent more autumns than I'd care to admit getting my hands cold and muddy, I think October just about edges it as the most rewarding planting month of the year. It's the only month where you can comfortably do almost everything: bulbs, overwintering veg, and the start of bare-root season, all at once.

Who Should Be Planting This October?

Frequently Asked Questions