November Garden Tips

Plant

• Plant for winter: pansies, violas, dianthus, snapdragons, flowering kale and cabbage. Plant cool season herbs like cilantro and parsley.
• Finish dividing and re-planting spring and summer-flowering perennials early November. Plant container trees and shrubs.
• Trim perennials back to the ground as they go dormant. Trim tender perennials such as bananas, firebush, Mexican heather, Mexican bush sage and lantanas after the first freeze, then mulch them well to protect from cold.
• Trees and shrubs planted now will have firmly established root systems by late spring and summer.
  Transplant established trees and shrubs anytime after first hard freeze. Take care to keep ball of soil intact around roots.

Prune

• Clean up all perennial beds by cutting dead & dying stalks, seedheads, etc.
• Remove dead or damaged branches from shade trees and shrubs.
• Mow until first killing freeze. Mulch leaves.
• Trim houseplants & tropicals to fit into a greenhouse or indoors.

Fertilize

• Use 20-20-20 water soluble or similar analysis with each watering to pansies, and other cool season plants.
• Put one cup of high nitrogen lawn food per cubic yard of compost as you add shredded tree leaves. Keep pile moist and warm and turn monthly to speed decay.
• Apply broadleafed weedkiller spray to get rid of young henbit, chickweed, dandelions and clover in turf areas before end of month.