Is it safe to plant shrubs now? I live in hot Wisconsin summers and cold winters.?

We planted some carnations in our front yard and half of them dies because we planted them in early spring, but then we had a cold weather/hot weather mix on and off. So now we just want to plant some shrubs in its place. Any ideas?

Is it safe to plant shrubs now? I live in hot Wisconsin summers and cold winters.?
Shrubs suffer from heat and high root zone temperatures when sitting on a garden center's lot. They dry out fast and, therefore, have inconsistent moisture levels. They have small root systems with very little soil and available nutrients. A lot of garden center's use overhead watering that encourages fugal growth. The best place for a shrub is in the ground under the care of a concerned and nurturing homeowner. You can plant now, but you need to supplement a shrub's watering through the heat of summer. If you wait until fall, you may be buying shrubs that have suffered through the long, hot, dry summer on a garden center's lot. Is it better to wait until fall to plant a shrub that has suffered stress through the summer months out of the ground? NO! If you can purchase newly dug shrubs in early fall, plant them right away and provide proper watering are you better off? Yes, but can you guarantee that the shrubs you want are available and that they have been freshly dug? If you can find the shrubs you want and they look really healthy, do not be afraid to buy and plant now.
Reply:sure you can plant now....

ideas for shrubs:

variegated weigela (flowers spring through summer)

hydrangea (flowers in summer)

azalea

lilacs

flowering almond

spirea

rose of sharon

butterfly bush (many different colors of blooms)

caryopteris

the above are decorative shrubs that offer many colors of flowers on them and they do well in zone 5 you don't specify where you live in WI. if you live in southeastern WI check out Minors or Prairie Tree landscaping or any other landscaping business they have a lot of variety and will help you choose the correct shrub for your home based on climate, sunlight etc. hope this helps...
Reply:Early fall is better, but as long as you water like crazy while it is hot, they should be okay.
Reply:Landscapers plant from thaw to freeze.