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Gardening Tips for November

By Joe Daniels

By November we're tired of chores and ready to appreciate the changes in foliage, so sit back and enjoy the colors of nature while you read what we should be doing in the garden:

• Take a stroll through the late autumn garden, delight in savoring each bit of color, and marvel over every stalwart bloom. Even at this late date, and after a summer of stress, there is a remarkable amount of beauty in the yard. Some delightful combinations are still going strong.
• Don't forget to drain and store hoses. Shut off and drain outdoor water taps (after giving your garden one last good soaking before winter)
• Take stock of your gardening tools. Toss out what's beyond salvaging and note what needs replacing. Mend, clean, and oil the rest.
• Get your Christmas list of gardening wants to family members and friends.
• If you don't have a map of your garden, make one now (for winter planning).
• After the ground freezes, add a thick layer of mulch. Cover plants needing extra protection with branches.
• Do not plant herbaceous plants.
• Finish putting in the last of the bulbs.
• As you rake those leaves, don't forget to compost them.
• Cut back perennials that are of no winter interest.

Seasonal:

• For the holidays, decorate window boxes and other outdoor containers with evergreen branches inserted into the soil. If the soil is frozen, soften with warm water. Balsam firs treated this way can hold their needles well into spring. Add bittersweet, red holly berries and strawflowers for color.
• Indoors, use natural ornaments made from pine cones, sweet gum balls, and seed pods of many plants including redbud and milkweed. Late fall is a good time to collect these. (This is your Martha Stewart tip of the month.)
• Request your garden seed and plant catalogs. Many are mailed right after Christmas. Be sure to look for catalogs that carry native and heirloom plants.

Houseplants:

• You will not need to fertilize most houseplants again until late March.
• Plants may need to be moved to summer exposures (west or south) if they are dropping many leaves.
• Jade, snake plant and cacti will probably do well with a thorough watering once a month over winter.
• Plant paperwhite narcissus in stones in a bulb pan in early November to have blooms for Christmas time..

Bulbs:

• Complete fall bulb planting before the ground freezes.

Compost:

• Start, or maintain, a compost pile. It should be kept moist through late fall additions. Fertilizer can be added to speed up the process if few or no grass clippings are available. Mix the pile thoroughly.

Vegetable Gardens:

• Completely harvest cool weather crops.
• Test garden soil every 3 to 5 years.
• Fall tilling helps improve soil structure and allows crops to be planted earlier in the spring. It also exposes insect eggs to weather and reduces insect populations for next year. This is a good time to ad organic matter to the soil.

Perennials:

• Continue dividing over-grown perennials.
• Peonies, chrysanthemums and other hardy perennials should be cut back 3 to 6 inches above the ground if not already done.
• Continue watering plants until the ground freezes in late November.
• Reduce peony botrytis blight and hollyhock rust by removing and destroying all old stems this fall. Do not compost diseased or infested materials.

Trees and Shrubs:

• These can still be planted if rainfall is around normal levels for the month. Keep plants watered until the ground is frozen. Mulch plants properly, keeping mulch pulled away from the trunk or main stems.
• Prune out dead, diseased or damaged branches only. Other pruning should be done in late winter for many trees and shrubs (except for spring-flowering ones which should be pruned after flowering).

Roses

• Aerate soil around established roses.
• Mulch using leaves and straw.

Miscellaneous Chores:

• Set up and stock bird feeders with treats for the birds. Provide fresh water as well.
• Drain garden hoses and sprinklers and store indoors.
• Clean gardening tools.
• Check all openings to your home that would allow squirrels or mice to enter; attic vents, building, joints, loose siding.

Have a wonderful and careful clean-up this fall - then take a rest-you deserve one. Enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends and then prepare yourself for the holiday madness.

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