November Garden To-Do List
Nights may be bringing frost, but days still offer sunny afternoons for outdoor chores. Learn what you should be doing in the garden in November.
Plant Spring Bulbs
By this point in the season, look for spring bulbs being sold at a discount. Look for bulbs that are firm to the touch with no signs of mold. Consider planting daffodils, which deliver reliable spring color and clumps that will increase in size over time. Choose varieties that flower at different times, and you can have daffodils in bloom for up to two months. Start with ‘February Gold,’ then ‘Tete-a-Tete,’ and then ones like ‘Ice Follies’ (shown).
Daffodils are critter-resistant; deer and rabbits both ignore them. The stems make excellent cut flowers that last long in a vase. These blooms follow the sun, so the flowers may not face your house all day. Knowing this, choose your planting spot carefully.
Leave the Leaves
Removing every single autumn leaf creates a habitat desert for beneficial insects. Instead, plan to let some leaves remain in planting borders and beneath shrubs. Or try creating a leaf pile in the middle of your yard in an area where you won’t damage the lawn. Build a wattle fence or use fencing wire to create a cage where you pile in leaves. Many insects and spiders will take shelter here for winter. Do remove leaves along your foundation, though, to eliminate hiding places for insects or rodents seeking entry to your home.
Get Garlic in the Ground
You can still tuck garlic into the soil up until a few weeks before the ground freezes. Plant the largest cloves, positioning them so that the top is 2″ below the soil surface. Space cloves 6 to 8 inches apart to grow the biggest bulbs. Water after planting and continue to water weekly if rain is scarce. Mulch newly planted bulbs with straw or chopped leaves to insulate the soil and slow down freezing, which gives cloves a longer window to develop roots. If the ground freezes where you garden, mulch with 6 inches of straw or 4 inches of chopped leaves. For areas where the ground doesn’t freeze over winter, use a 2-inch-thick mulch layer.
Water New Plants
Fall is an ideal planting time, as long as you remember to water newly added trees and shrubs before winter arrives. Adequate water before the soil freezes is key to helping new woody plants survive their first winter. If winter brings frozen soil without snow, give your tree a drink during any time temps are above freezing. One hose-less way to ferry water to a tree is with a water bag in a cart.
Protect Plants From Frost
To keep the vegetable garden yielding through chilly nights, cover plants with frost blankets made from spun polyester. Suspend covers above plants on a simple framework you purchase or create yourself. A frost blanket lets sunlight and water through but excludes frost and wildlife, including deer and rabbits. Frost blankets come in different thicknesses or weights that protect plants to so many degrees. Read labels carefully to get the protection you need.
Lift Dahlia Tubers
After frost blackens foliage, dig dahlia tubers for winter storage in regions where they’re not hardy (Zones 7 and colder). Clip the remaining stems, leaving a short stub attached to the tuber. Dry tubers in the sun or a shed for several days until soil falls away. Gently knock or rub soil from tubers, shorten stems and store in sawdust or peat moss in a cool, dry place for winter. In the warmest regions, bulbs don’t need to be lifted. Just clip plants back after frost to remove dead leaves and mulch roots well for winter.
Winterize Roses
After the first killing frost wipes out tender green leaves across your landscape, prune shrub and hybrid tea roses to reduce height by at least a third — even more if roses grow in a windy area. It’s important to shorten long canes so they won’t whip in winter winds and rock the entire plant, slowly loosening it in soil. In Zones 6 and colder, add 5 to 6 inches of mulch, leaves or straw around the base of rose plants in fall. For Zones 7 and higher, 2 to 3 inches of mulch is enough.
Add Mulch
In colder regions, mulch around plantings after the ground freezes, aiming for a 3-inch-thick layer. Mulch insulates soil, which limits temperature swings and can help prevent frost heave, where freeze-thaw cycles in soil literally push plants out of the soil. Plants like coralbells (shown), small bulbs that are planted shallowly, iris and newly planted perennials frequently experience frost heave. Mulch around these plants, taking care not to bury the crown of perennials.
Clean Up Fruit Trees
Help keep fruit trees healthy and strong by cleaning up in the fall. Start by gathering any fallen or mummified fruit. Fruits offer winter harbor for all kinds of disease organisms and also a few pests. To help prevent future problems, gather fruits and dispose of them. Prune and destroy any diseased branches. Rake and destroy any diseased leaves. Keep the base of fruit trees open and clear, trimming grass, pulling weeds and not piling mulch against the trunk. Follow this approach on all fruit trees — edible and ornamental.
Fix Lawn
In Zones 7 and warmer, aim to apply your last fall lawn feeding on cool-season turf around Thanksgiving. Lawns comprised of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue and tall fescue fit this category. This feeding is the most important of the year. For a healthy lawn, this may be the only fertilizing you need. Many times this fertilizer is packaged as a “winterizer” product that contains slow-release nitrogen and potassium, which helps promote strong root growth before the ground freezes.
Dig Tender Bulbs
Dig bulbs, corms and rhizomes of crops that won’t survive winter where you live. The list includes canna (shown), elephant ears, gladiolus and tuberous begonias. In an ideal year, wait until frost kills the tops of plants. If frost is late, don’t wait to unearth these roots. Tackle the job while temperatures are pleasant. Cut off plant tops, unearth bulbs and trim roots. Place bulbs in a shady spot for a few days to jump-start the drying process. Once bulbs are dry, store them in peat moss or sawdust in a cool place for winter.
Feed the Birds
Fill birdfeeders so that birds make a stop in your yard as they journey on to their winter feeding rounds. To attract the most diverse selection of birds, hang different types of feeders filled with different kinds of food. Suet feeders lure nuthatches, wrens, chickadees and woodpeckers, like this red-bellied woodpecker.
Stock thistle socks with niger seed to attract goldfinches. A mesh feeder stuffed with safflower seed beckons cardinals, titmice and finches. Ground feeder trays entice mourning doves, juncos, pine siskins and native sparrows. Deter squirrels with baffles or squirrel-proof feeders. They also tend to ignore safflower seed.
Continue Mowing
In cold regions, mow the lawn until a hard freeze stops the grass from growing. It’s a good idea to give the lawn a final cut that’s on the shorter side, especially in regions where snow remains piled on turf through winter. A shorter lawn is less likely to develop snow mold. You may still want to mow over leaves after the grass-mowing season is done. Just be sure not to mow when grass crowns are frozen or you risk damaging your lawn.
Tidy Garden Tools
As you put away garden tools for the season, take time to clean and organize your gear. Clean cutting blades with rubbing alcohol, and sharpen cutting edges. Use a file to sharpen trowels, spades and shovels. Remove any rust with steel wool. Once rust is gone, rub machine oil into the blades with a rag to keep rust at bay. Go through your tools and plan to donate any you no longer use. Community or school gardens are a great place to share extra garden tools.
Gather Snow Gear
Move snow shovels from the garden shed to your garage or home so they’re easy to grab when that first snowfall arrives. Start your snow blower to ensure it’s good to go. Lay in a supply of plant- and surface-friendly ice melt. Store at least a small amount in an area that’s easily accessible, such as the house or attached garage.
