NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER is time to PROTECT plants & wildlife, PLANT and CLEAR LEAVES.
CHECKLIST OF KEY TASKS FOR NOVEMBER:
PATIOS & BORDERS
If you are not planting up your tubs and hanging baskets for winter and spring colour, take them down, empty them out and put them away for winter.
Move plants in pots so that they group together and protect one another in cold weather.
Remove saucers from underneath them and ensure excess water can get away through the drainage holes in the base by unblocking them and standing pots on pot feet.
You can buy a set of three for most styles of pots but may have to improvise by standing pots on small pieces of wood for types where suitable feet are not available.
Protect tender alpine plants from the cold and wet. Many are protected by several feet of snow where they grow in the wild.
This not only protects them from severe cold but also keeps them drier. Use a sheet of glass or a garden cloche.
If you haven't done it already, trim th dead flower heads off summer and autumn flowering heathers.
Trim a little of the shoot tips off too as this will keep them nice and compact.
TREES & SHRUBS
If the soil is not too wet or actually frozen it's still a good time for planting of hardy plants.
Reduce the height of lavatera, but leave the hard pruning until spring.
Fork over borders and work a slow release feed into the soil.
BULBS
You still have time to plant tulips and spring flowering bulbs.
Plant tulip bulbs. Urgently plant any other bulbs.
Check potted bulbs that you are going to force in to flower early.
Make sure that they are well watered.
If hyacinths have made sufficient roots they can be put into a well lit, warm place to start the forcing.
Pot up amaryllis bulbs.
Leave one third of the bulb standing proud of the compost.
Water very little until leaves appear. Re-pot older plants into fresh compost now too.
Winter flowering cyclamen can be planted in the shade of trees or in the rockery to flower in January and then naturalise.
Dry off gladioli and begonia corms and dahlia roots and store in a frost-free place.
PLANTING & PRUNING
It is not too late to take root cuttings and plant them up in a cold frame or greenhouse.
Now is the time to plant bare-rooted trees, roses, shrubs and hedging before the ground freezes.
If the frosts have not yet arrived, there is still time to plant winter-flowering plants such as pansies, violas and wallflowers.
You can still sow winter hardy lettuce, winter spinach, onions, garlic and shallots.
FRUIT GARDEN
Finish harvesting late maturing apples and pears for storage.
Check fruit trees for signs of canker.
Cut off infected shoots if small, but for larger important branches it will be necessary to brush away the dead loose cankered tissue,
tidy it up with a sharp knife and then paint the wound with canker paint.
Attach sticky glue band traps to the trunks of fruit trees.
These will trap the winter moth on its way up the trunk to lay its eggs.
Do not forget to glue band any tree stakes too. Remove any fruit that has brown rot. Burn or bin it. This infected fruit often hangs on the trees as mummified clusters lurking ready to infect next years crop.
Apply winter wash to fruit trees and bushes now to control any insect pests that are over wintering in cracks and crevices
Plant cherries, plums, pears, vines, figs, medlar, quince, blackberries, loganberries and other fruits.
Pinch immature figs off outdoor plants. These will not grow on if left but will rot on the tree so are best taken off now.
Anything smaller than the size of a pea can be left to grow on and should survive the winter to ripen next summer.
Where the fig is growing in a pot, protect the tender roots from frost by wrapping the pot.
Check stored fruit regularly. Remove and eat any that is ripe but check for any that are rotting and remove them promptly.
Plant fruit canes and bushes.
VEGETABLE GARDEN
Harvest parsnips as needed or lift and store in the ‘fridge.
Pot up herbs such as chives and store on a window sill for winter use.
Gather herbs, dice and freeze them for use in winter.
LAWNS, HEDGES & PATHS
Treat paths with path cleaner to control algae and moulds that make them slippery when wet. Control moss on the lawn.
Plant new hedges this month.
Sweep up leaves and compost them.
THE GREENHOUSE
Insulate greenhouses with bubble polythene. A layer of this can lift the temperature by a few critical degrees to keep frost out.
Open the ventilators a little on mild days. This will encourage good air circulation and will minimise diseases.
Wash the glass down with greenhouse disinfectant and cleaner.
Try propagating plants by taking root cuttings now. It is very easy to do but not all plants can be multiplied this way.
Dig up a healthy plant, cut thicker roots into 5-7cm lengths and 'sow' them in pots filled with cutting compost. They should be rooted by late spring.
INDOOR PLANTS
Reduce water given to cacti and succulents in winter; they still need some and will also benefit from feeding every month or so.
Christmas cacti need more regular watering, otherwise they will drop their flower buds.
Reduce the feeding of indoor plants to fortnightly and reduce the amount of water too.
Cyclamen are at their best this in November and like cool rooms or conservatories.
Remember to water cyclamen only from the base.
SOIL
Complete autumn digging in the vegetable patch.
Leave the ground rough and let the frost and rain break it up.
Add clay breaker and plenty of organic matter to improve heavy clay soil and very light sandy soil too.
PONDS
Erect a net over your pond to prevent falling leaves from trees and shrubs getting into the water and increasing the nutrient levels when they breakdown.
They may also deprive the fish of oxygen as they decompose.
Remove dead leaves from pond plants as they die back.
WILDLIFE
Wash bird feeders and tables with disinfectant to minimise spread of bird diseases.
Continue to feed the birds
NOVEMBER GARDEN CHORES:
CHECKLIST OF KEY TASKS FOR NOVEMBER:
- Do not walk on your lawn or rake it when frosty.
- Continue to collect seeds and store them in small paper bags or envelopes in a dry place.
- Protect plants such as brassicas from birds by using netting.
- Before the first frosts, use bubble wrap or hessian to protect stems of tender plants.
- Prune shoots from roses which may be too long and may be damaged by winds.
- Check the garden for any plants or property and secure from wind.
- Take care of wildlife (birds & hedgehogs) by providing shelter and food.
- Plant any sort of tree, shrub, climber, perennial, conifer, rockery plant and heather this month.
- Tidy the garden leaves (and compost them).
- Clean and store garden tools; disconnect outside hose and lag the outside tap.
PATIOS & BORDERS
If you are not planting up your tubs and hanging baskets for winter and spring colour, take them down, empty them out and put them away for winter.
Move plants in pots so that they group together and protect one another in cold weather.
Remove saucers from underneath them and ensure excess water can get away through the drainage holes in the base by unblocking them and standing pots on pot feet.
You can buy a set of three for most styles of pots but may have to improvise by standing pots on small pieces of wood for types where suitable feet are not available.
Protect tender alpine plants from the cold and wet. Many are protected by several feet of snow where they grow in the wild.
This not only protects them from severe cold but also keeps them drier. Use a sheet of glass or a garden cloche.
If you haven't done it already, trim th dead flower heads off summer and autumn flowering heathers.
Trim a little of the shoot tips off too as this will keep them nice and compact.
TREES & SHRUBS
If the soil is not too wet or actually frozen it's still a good time for planting of hardy plants.
Reduce the height of lavatera, but leave the hard pruning until spring.
Fork over borders and work a slow release feed into the soil.
BULBS
You still have time to plant tulips and spring flowering bulbs.
Plant tulip bulbs. Urgently plant any other bulbs.
Check potted bulbs that you are going to force in to flower early.
Make sure that they are well watered.
If hyacinths have made sufficient roots they can be put into a well lit, warm place to start the forcing.
Pot up amaryllis bulbs.
Leave one third of the bulb standing proud of the compost.
Water very little until leaves appear. Re-pot older plants into fresh compost now too.
Winter flowering cyclamen can be planted in the shade of trees or in the rockery to flower in January and then naturalise.
Dry off gladioli and begonia corms and dahlia roots and store in a frost-free place.
PLANTING & PRUNING
It is not too late to take root cuttings and plant them up in a cold frame or greenhouse.
Now is the time to plant bare-rooted trees, roses, shrubs and hedging before the ground freezes.
If the frosts have not yet arrived, there is still time to plant winter-flowering plants such as pansies, violas and wallflowers.
You can still sow winter hardy lettuce, winter spinach, onions, garlic and shallots.
FRUIT GARDEN
Finish harvesting late maturing apples and pears for storage.
Check fruit trees for signs of canker.
Cut off infected shoots if small, but for larger important branches it will be necessary to brush away the dead loose cankered tissue,
tidy it up with a sharp knife and then paint the wound with canker paint.
Attach sticky glue band traps to the trunks of fruit trees.
These will trap the winter moth on its way up the trunk to lay its eggs.
Do not forget to glue band any tree stakes too. Remove any fruit that has brown rot. Burn or bin it. This infected fruit often hangs on the trees as mummified clusters lurking ready to infect next years crop.
Apply winter wash to fruit trees and bushes now to control any insect pests that are over wintering in cracks and crevices
Plant cherries, plums, pears, vines, figs, medlar, quince, blackberries, loganberries and other fruits.
Pinch immature figs off outdoor plants. These will not grow on if left but will rot on the tree so are best taken off now.
Anything smaller than the size of a pea can be left to grow on and should survive the winter to ripen next summer.
Where the fig is growing in a pot, protect the tender roots from frost by wrapping the pot.
Check stored fruit regularly. Remove and eat any that is ripe but check for any that are rotting and remove them promptly.
Plant fruit canes and bushes.
VEGETABLE GARDEN
Harvest parsnips as needed or lift and store in the ‘fridge.
Pot up herbs such as chives and store on a window sill for winter use.
Gather herbs, dice and freeze them for use in winter.
LAWNS, HEDGES & PATHS
Treat paths with path cleaner to control algae and moulds that make them slippery when wet. Control moss on the lawn.
Plant new hedges this month.
Sweep up leaves and compost them.
THE GREENHOUSE
Insulate greenhouses with bubble polythene. A layer of this can lift the temperature by a few critical degrees to keep frost out.
Open the ventilators a little on mild days. This will encourage good air circulation and will minimise diseases.
Wash the glass down with greenhouse disinfectant and cleaner.
Try propagating plants by taking root cuttings now. It is very easy to do but not all plants can be multiplied this way.
Dig up a healthy plant, cut thicker roots into 5-7cm lengths and 'sow' them in pots filled with cutting compost. They should be rooted by late spring.
INDOOR PLANTS
Reduce water given to cacti and succulents in winter; they still need some and will also benefit from feeding every month or so.
Christmas cacti need more regular watering, otherwise they will drop their flower buds.
Reduce the feeding of indoor plants to fortnightly and reduce the amount of water too.
Cyclamen are at their best this in November and like cool rooms or conservatories.
Remember to water cyclamen only from the base.
SOIL
Complete autumn digging in the vegetable patch.
Leave the ground rough and let the frost and rain break it up.
Add clay breaker and plenty of organic matter to improve heavy clay soil and very light sandy soil too.
PONDS
Erect a net over your pond to prevent falling leaves from trees and shrubs getting into the water and increasing the nutrient levels when they breakdown.
They may also deprive the fish of oxygen as they decompose.
Remove dead leaves from pond plants as they die back.
WILDLIFE
Wash bird feeders and tables with disinfectant to minimise spread of bird diseases.
Continue to feed the birds
NOVEMBER GARDEN CHORES:
- Disconnect your hosepipe from the outside tap, store it and lag the tap to protect it from frost.
- If you can't put your garden furniture inside then it is probably worth investing in a cover. That way you can take the cover off and sit in the garden whenever the sun shines.
- Wooden furniture should be cleaned down and treated with good oil when dry.
- Finish any pruning before the hard frosts.
- Tidy the garden leaves and compost them.
- Keep lawns free of leaves.
- Remove fallen leaves (carefully) from the base of tender perennials.
- Clean and store garden tools.
- Service your lawnmower before storing away for winter.