NOVEMBER

GENERAL MAINTENANCE:

Leave ornamental grasses uncut to provide winter interest and protection for over wintering beneficial insects. Frost on grasses and cobwebs with morning dew can look spectacular.

Raise all pots and containers off the ground by putting feet or bricks underneath. This will assist with drainage.

Continue to clear up and compost fallen leaves to prevent disease and also for safety as wet leaves can be a hazard.

PESTS & DISEASES:

Continue with vine weevil treatments. As the temperatures are still warm the grubs will still be hatching

LAWNS:

Try and avoid walking on wet lawns and definitely no walking on frosted lawns. There should certainly be no lawn mowing now unless the lawn is dry. Even then it should only be a very light clip.

November would be the last opportunity to lay any new lawn or turf down.

PRUNING:

Prune Acer cultivars now to avoid them bleeding from cut stems once the sap rises in spring.

Winter prune apples and pears.

Begin winter pruning of deciduous trees, if required.

Bamboos can be thinned out. Cut away the weakest canes to show off the stronger ones.

Deciduous hedges cand be pruned or renovated now until spring.

BULBS:

Plant tulip bulbs. Best to plant these as drifts through the border to get the best impact. If growing in clay soil or containers mix horticultural grit into the compost. Plant tulip bulbs 2 to 3 times their own depth.

PLANTING:

Plant bare root or root ball trees, shrubs, hedges and roses.

Before planting bare root roses soak the roots in a bucket of water and prepare a large planting hole. Plant the rose so that the graft sits at least 5cm below ground, working the soil in between the roots. Firm the soil around the rose and apply some mulch.

Roses tend to suffer from rose sickness if they are planted in the same place as an old rose. If you do wish to do this then clear as much of the old soil out and replace with new soil.