Winter bark and stem
colours revealed
as the leaves fall
Leave untidy corners for
hibernating creatures
What to do in your ornamental garden in November
There's still plenty of clearing up to do, but when it is too cold and wet for working in the garden, curl up
by the fire with your catalogues, especially the 2009
Organic Gardening Catalogue, and order
early for next year, dreaming of good things to come in the spring.
General tasks
- Weed borders now but leave perennial plants uncut. This provides lots of nooks and crannies for over wintering beneficial insects such as ladybirds and beetles. Seed heads left on plants will provide food for birds too.
- Tidy up and tie in climbing plants such as roses and other wall shrubs.
- Prune large specimens of Buddleja, Hazel (Corylus), Philadelphus and Elder (Sambucus). Remove the oldest branches up to a 1/3 of the total bush, this technique is best suited to large shrubs that branch low down or grow as multi stemmed plants from the base.
- Herbaceous plants will die back quickly once the frost strikes so mark with a stick those plants that could easily be damaged when digging.
- Last chance to lift and store dahlias. Let them dry out in a cool place, then store in shallow boxes of dry, peat free compost.,/P.
Last chance to lift and store dahlias Compost rather than burn garden refuse. If your compost bin is full, move the contents out and cover with a sheet of plastic. This frees up the bin to start a fresh heap. Alternatively, buy or build a new one.
Local authorities often run a special promotion selling compost bins at greatly reduced prices, check the following website for a scheme in your area: www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/.
If you don't own a shredder, hire one for the weekend to chop up all those woody prunings. They'll compost down much faster once they've been shredded. It works out cheaper if you can share one with neighbours.
Garden Organic members can see our factsheets: Access to factsheets requires members' password. Find out more about Garden Organic membership here.
Lawn care
- The lawn can still be cut if the ground is dry and the weather warm enough to allow growth.
- Set the blades higher and collect up the fallen leaves at the same time. You can either leave the chopped leaf/grass mix on the lawn, where it will quickly disappear, or collect it up in the grass box and add it to your leafmould or compost heap.
Greenhouse
- Thoroughly clean the greenhouse, inside and out. Don't worry about sterilising all the surfaces - a good wash and scrub with a stiff brush will suffice. If you have a power washer the job will be very easy, but remember to do this on a sunny day and remove plants before you start, to ensure they are not damaged by the spray.
- Put up 'bubble wrap' to insulate the greenhouse over winter. Keep some cut lengths of fleece to hand, to cover vulnerable plants on cold nights.
- Give all over-wintering plants a good check over for pests and diseases before bringing them indoors.
- Tender plants in pots should now be indoors, under cover. Pots outside may need to be protected from freezing weather. Insulate them by wrapping round with bubble plastic or straw.
Ponds
- If you haven't already done so, cut back overgrown
plants, and divide
those that need it. Cover the pond with pea netting or similar to catch
autumn leaves.
Garden Organic members can see our factsheet, Troubleshooting in the Garden Pond.
Access to factsheets requires members' password. Find out more about Garden Organic membership here.
What to plant in November
-
Plant a scented winter flowering shrub next to your front door. Enjoy the fragrant perfume as you brush past on winter days. Christmas box, Sarcococca confusa, Viburnum X bodnantense and Lonicera fragrantissima are good examples.
Lonicera fragrantissima - Many hardy annuals can be sown outside now, includeing poppy, Papaver rhoeas and pot marigold, Calendula officinalis. The fresh green seedlings sprout in early spring ready to give an earlier flowering display than those sown in spring.
- Take root cuttings of the oriental poppy, Papaver orientale. Place in a cold greenhouse or cold frame over winter.
- Plant trees, shrubs and hedging. This allows for some root growth before the soil temperatures fall.
- Plant tulip and lily bulbs until the end of November. Lilies need a well-prepared soil, in sun or part-shade. Add some grit to the bottom of the hole for good drainage.
- Try planting some bulbs in pots and tubs to bring their colour and scent nearer to the house. Extend the display by planting more bulbs in layers using a deep pot. Arrange the layers according to flowering times, so that when the flowers in the first layer fade, they are replaced by the next fresh, floral show. Anemone blanda, Chionodoxa, Crocus, Galanthus and Tulipa will give a changing, long flowering display.
Make new plants
Hellebore
Pulmonaria-
Review your herbaceous borders now. Dividing large clumps of perennials will create lots of new plants and refresh old ones. Pot up cuttings and offshoots; keep in a cold frame over winter and plant out in spring.
- Early flowering perennials such as Helleborus X orientalis and Pulmonaria (lungwort) may be potted up now and brought indoors in January for an unusual pot plant that can then be planted out after flowering.
Hardwood cuttings
- When the leaves have fallen from deciduous shrubs, now is the time to take hardwood cuttings. Follow these easy steps to increase your shrub displays. Suitable shrubs include: Cornus, Salix (willow), Buddleja, Philadelphus, Prunus, Sambucus, Rosa, Berberis, Magnolia and Hydrangea.
Root cuttings
- Root cuttings are easy to take and are a reliable way of propagating many herbaceous perennial plants e.g. Papaver orientale, Verbascum spp, Acanthus and Phlox.
- Root cuttings are best taken in the winter from November to March. Further details here of the root cuttings technique.
Easy Perennials
This section gives you our suggestions of perennial plants that are looking good, are easy to grow and fairly free of pest and disease, making them a good bet for an organic garden.
This month, there are many grasses that will look good all through the winter and provide seed for birds and good hibernation sites for insects too.
Novembers stars are:
- Calamagrostis
- Stipa gigantea, Giant oat grass
- Carex comans
- Actaea simplex
- Impatiens tinctoria
Further information about these perennials can be found here.
Unusual plants can be sourced by using the RHS plantfinder on-line. There is a listing of organic nurseries too.
Our organic guidelines give information on sourcing organic plants.
Pest & disease watch
- Squirrels love digging up newly planted bulbs. Protect pots and new plantings with a cover of small mesh chicken wire now. Remove it when new growth is poking through the soil in spring.
- Rake up leaves under roses to prevent blackspot spores overwintering in the soil. Affected leaves have dark brown or black, often coalescing, blotches on both leaf surfaces. Prune out infected shoots and remove any remaining leaves before they fall.
Garden Organic members can see our factsheet, Rose blackspot for more details.
Access to factsheets requires members' password. Find out more about Garden Organic membership here.
Rose blackspot
Diplocarpon rosae
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