November Gardening In Soperton

Written By Soperton's "Gardening Guru"

Winter seems to be on its way, but don't clean and put away your gardening tools yet. November can be one of the busiest garden months of the year. Everything you do now to freshen plants and flowers will lay the foundation for a gorgeous display of spring blossoms.

Fall gardening can be organized into three steps:

1. Planting trees and shrubs
2. Planting bulbs
3. Cleaning up yard and garden

Planting Trees and Shrubs

Don't wait until spring to plant new trees and shrubs. Plant them now and be sure to protect them against harsh winter weather by adding mulch around the stems. This also works well with rose bushes, mums, clematis vines, most small fruit trees and shrubs and any sensitive perennials. If your trees and shrubs need pruning, wait until January or
February. If you prune them now, you will stimulate new growth that may be killed by winter freezes.

Planting Bulbs

It's such a wonderful surprise after a long, cold winter to see the first bulbs peep through the ground. The blast of color in the early spring is well worth the effort of fall planting. You can continue to plant bulbs this month. Just be sure you remember what's already been planted so older bulbs aren't damaged as new ones are added.

Cleaning up Yard and Garden

Cleaning up the garden may not be your favorite gardening task; but it does have its reward in gold--gardener's gold, better known as compost. Compost is the end-product that results from the decomposition of organic materials. Adding compost to soil will improve its structure, texture, aeration and water-holding capacity. Items that qualify include leaves, grass clippings, straw, and weeds (as long as they haven't gone to seed).

If you have rose bushes, clean up your rose beds this month after the last of the roses have faded away. Major pruning should be done in the winter, but now you can do a light pruning of tall shoots. Also, pick up all the faded flowers, fallen leaves and seedpods and prune out any dead shoots. By cleaning your beds now, you will reduce the chance of having insect and disease problems next year.

Perennials of nearly all kinds can be set out and can be divided and transplanted in November. Lift and divide clumps of daylilies, iris, coneflowers, hostas, daisies, and ferns. Add a bit of organic matter such as compost to the soil, reset divided plants at the same soil level, and water well. If you find you have too many divisions to replant, pass along a few to friends. Thank heavens I have good friends who subscribe to this practice. I love the fact that my garden is filled with gifts from other Soperton gardeners.

Bundle up and I'll see you outside.