What to plant in autumn (UK)

By Sophie Sparkes · Updated September 2026 · 6 min read

Autumn gets treated as the end of the gardening year, but it's really the start of the next one. The soil is still warm from summer, the rain does your watering for you, and anything planted now gets a head start that spring plantings never catch up with. Here's what to get in the ground from September to November.

Short answer: autumn is a planting season, not a wind-down. Onion sets and winter salads go in during September, garlic and broad beans in October and November, and spring bulbs across the whole window, with tulips deliberately left until November.

Veg to plant in autumn

🧅 Onion sets & shallots (September to October)

Autumn-planting varieties like 'Radar' and 'Electric' go in now, sit quietly through winter, and give you a harvest weeks earlier than spring-planted sets. Push them into well-drained soil so just the tip shows.

🧄 Garlic (October to November)

Garlic genuinely needs autumn planting: most varieties require a spell of cold to split into fat cloves. Break a bulb into cloves and plant each one 15cm apart, pointy end up. Easiest crop of the year.

🫛 Broad beans (October to November)

Hardy varieties like 'Aquadulce Claudia' sown now overwinter as small plants and crop in May: up to a month before spring sowings, and usually before blackfly gets going.

🥬 Winter salads & greens (September)

Lamb's lettuce, mizuna, winter-hardy lettuce like 'Winter Density', and spinach all germinate in September's warm soil and can be picked right through the cold months, especially under a cloche or fleece.

🌸 Spring cabbage (September)

Plant out young spring cabbage now for greens in April: the "hungry gap" when little else is ready. Firm them in well and net against pigeons.

Flowers to plant in autumn

• Spring bulbs: daffodils and crocuses in September to October; tulips wait until November (colder soil means less disease). This is the single highest-impact autumn job.
• Hardy annuals: cornflowers, calendula and ammi sown in September flower earlier and stronger next year.
• Wallflowers & sweet williams: plant out now for scent and colour next spring.
• Sweet peas: sow in pots in October, overwinter somewhere cool and bright, and you'll have flowering plants weeks ahead of spring sowings.

Trees, shrubs & fruit: bare-root season

From November, nurseries sell trees, hedging, roses and fruit bushes "bare-root": dug up while dormant, without a pot. They're roughly half the price of potted plants and establish better, because autumn's warm, moist soil lets roots grow before spring. Raspberry canes, currants, gooseberries, apples and rhubarb crowns all go in now.

Three jobs that pay off in spring

• Mulch empty beds with compost or manure: worms dig it in over winter, and it protects the soil structure from rain.
• Collect leaves into bags or a wire cage to make leafmould: free soil conditioner by next autumn.
• Sow green manure (like field beans or phacelia) on any bed you won't use until spring. It suppresses weeds and feeds the soil when dug in.

Autumn planting questions

Is autumn a good time to plant?

It is one of the two best, and for a specific reason: the soil is still warm from summer while the air is cooling, which is exactly what roots want. Autumn plantings establish over winter and wake up in spring already settled, while spring plantings are still finding their feet. The rain also does most of your watering.

What vegetables can I plant in autumn in the UK?

Autumn onion sets and shallots in September to October, garlic in October to November, hardy broad beans like 'Aquadulce Claudia' from October, and winter salads, spinach and spring cabbage in September. Green manure goes on any bed you have finished with, to protect the soil over winter.

When should I plant spring bulbs in autumn?

Daffodils, crocuses and most small bulbs in September, while the soil is warm enough for them to root. Alliums and fritillaries in September to October. Tulips wait until November, because colder soil reduces the risk of tulip fire. Buy them all early for the best varieties, and just store the tulips somewhere cool and dry until their month.

What is bare-root planting and when does it start?

Bare-root plants are trees, hedging, roses and soft fruit lifted while dormant and sold with no pot and no compost. The season runs from November to March. They cost roughly half what container plants do and usually establish better, because they were grown in open ground. Plant them within a day or two of arrival and never let the roots dry out.

Should I dig over my beds in autumn?

Only if you need to. Leaving the soil covered, either with a green manure like field beans or phacelia, or with a mulch, protects the structure over winter and feeds it when dug in come spring. Bare, dug soil sat through a wet winter loses nutrients and compacts.