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Although November is an ideal month to move deciduous and bare-rooted trees and shrubs, there are a select few that should only be moved in the Spring. These include the Japanese Maples, Dogwood, Magnolia, Beech and Birch, all of which have very thin bark.
When the temperature drop below freezing, their thin sapling bark becomes brittle and splits very easily. For this reason, it is best to wait until spring to plant any of these. If any must be transplanted now, the trunk should be loosely wrapped with tree wrapping or burlap.
YOUR NEW LILIESIf you ordered any new lily bulbs from one of your favorite mail order catalogues, they should be planted as soon as they arrive, later this month.
If possible choose a nice sunny site where the bases of the plants will remain shaded by companion plants, and be protected from strong winds. The soil must be well-drained. If yours isn't try improving it by adding peat moss, compost, leaf mold or well rotted manure and mixing well.
Bulbs should be set in the ground with the base of the bulb 3 times as deep as the bulb is high. So a 2 inch tall bulb would be planted 6 inches deep.
DID YOU KNOW ???Cornucopia was 1st mentioned in Greek Mythology. The horn of plenty or "Cornucopia" is often used as a theme for fall, and Thanksgiving in particular.
One legend tells of how the infant Zeus was fed goat milk by the young Amalthaea. To show his gratitude, Zeus broke off the goat's horn and filled it with fruits and flowers. He presented his gift to Amalthaea, promising her that the possessor should always have abundance.
LIME TIMEFall is a good time of the year to apply lime to your lawn areas if they need it. It is highly recommended that you have your soil ph checked before adding any kind of chemicals, fertilizers or lime.
If applied now the rain, snow and frost action will work the materials down into the soil. The kind you want to apply to your lawns is ground limestone or dolomitic limestone. Limestone retains its correcting alkaline effects for several years.
STRAWBERRY PATCHIf you have a strawberry patch its time to get it mulched for winter. Strawberries are very shallow rooted plants, which are often heaved out of the ground in Spring by frost action.
So after a few good frosts, as the soil cools down its safe to apply a lightweight mulch on the plants. Salt hay, wood chips or pine needles are most often whats used. A 3-4 inch layer is good.
COMPOST ZONEGuess what...time to mound up that ol' compost pile. Composting is merely a piling of spent vegetables, annuals, leaves, grass clippings, and most of your other organic garden debris you acquire can be added.
It is best to assemble your pile is an orderly manner much like layers in a sandwich. On the bottom place a layer of soil, plus optional fertilizer. On top of the soil place various waste from your garden, just pile it on. When your pile reaches about a foot or so in height, add another layer of soil and fertilizer.
Keep building your pile in this manner until it is about 3-4 feet high. Then you can just let it rot on its own undisturbed, or you can speed up the process by turning is several times a year.
Fun or not, decayed compost is one of the most economical and rewarding ways of improving your soil.
FALL PLANTINGSPerennials and woody plants that are planted in the fall do not need fertilizer. Fertilizing them now may stimulate new growth, at a time when the plant should only be concentrating on new root formation. Soft top growth is often weak and thereby subject to winter-kill.
It is however, safe to add in some peat moss and or compost because these are both soil improvers not fertilizers, and will not stimulate growth.
To Do List
- November -
- Cut off daylily flower stalks and cut foliage back to 6 inches
- Put wire or protective wrap on tree trunks to deter mice and rabbits from chewing
- All month deciduous shrubs can be moved
- Now is the time to plant lilies and roses
- Finish up planting hardy spring bulbs
- Rake leaves from lawn and save them for the compost pile
- After cleaning out window boxes, poke in evergreen branches
- Cut down any spent or faded perennials
- Clean up any frost-blackened plants
- Cut back fuchsias and put in cool, dark place to rest (cellar)
- Put up feeding stations and start feeding the birds
- If you burn wood, save some ashes for next year's garden
- Be sure to stake and guy wire all newly planted shade trees
- Spray peach trees with fungicide now to control peach leaf curl