I would say a little from column A and a little from column B. planting in the fall will not hurt anything as long as its not tropical beyond your zone. then i would wait until spring to give it a good year to establish itself before the next cold.

It does make sense for anything that isn't frost tender. Planting in fall/winter takes advantage of our winter rainfall to minimize the need to hand water, and the tree will put more energy into growing roots rather than top growth in the cooler weather, so it is a win/win situation. For the subtropical things that may suffer from cold, it makes more sense to wait to plant until it warms up again in the spring. On the other hand, if the subtropicals you have in mind are root hardy, or will only drop leaves with frost and not be killed back, it is also safe to plant them in most of coastal California. Cannas would fit into this category, with the tops being lost to a freeze, but the roots are perfectly hardy in much of California, and not harmed by planting now.

I have longans, mangoes, starfruits, guavas, cherimoyas, wax jambus, bananas, jujubes growing in ground, and they all seem to handle the cold months OK. I'm looking to add a few more mangoes and lychees to the yard. I think I'm gonna go ahead and plant them.
Thanks,

Do what you want, but it isn't advised to plant tropicals like Mangoes and Lychees this time of year, even in warmest parts of southern California. What is your hurry? I would suggest that only in very southern Florida or Hawaii would it be best to plant these trees at the beginning of winter.

LOL, I'm in no hurry, just need something to do. You're causing me to be cautious, which is a good thing, so maybe I'll just leave them in the pots for now.

Newgen, I'm going out and buying trees still at this time. Love it. No crowds to deal with, I can just browse alone without people in the way. Anyways, just got a few citrus this week including a Citrus hystrix, even after that light frost we had, it toasted the banana and plumeria leaves LOL. I just tell myself this Fall, better do it now or never. Because I always hold off on fruit trees and never remember to buy/plant fruit trees when it's the ideal time. Also keep in mind the 1 year guarantee from HD and Lowes...

musaboru: Surprisingly, all my plumerias are doing OK in pots outdoors. The last couple weeks have seen night time temp in the low 30s. I'm with you on the shopping for tropicals during "off peak" season.

I'm sorry that this has nothing to do with your post, but is this the right forum to ask about orchids? I couldn't figure out how to post a question anywhere else. :(

tinym, below is the link for the orchid forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: orchid forum

Murray Corman (well known nurseryman from south florida) wrote an article on this subject :-).

Jeff