Things to Do in November

November is your last chance to finish your fall gardening chores before the cold winter winds set in. It is a great time to get your winter color in and to clean the beds one last time. It is also a good time to start some winter chores, such as composting, mulching, transplanting and pruning.

Transplanting

As I said in the October Newsletter, it is better to transplant an ill placed plant to a better location, or to fill in bare spots with over-crowded perennials or seedlings, than it is to go to a Nursery and buy more plants. With the cooler weather and the rains that we received in October, a lot of plants have started to show their winter colors and are ready to go dormant, the soil is moist and soft and can be dug easier. I like to transplant in stages, if I have the time. That means to prune the roots only on two sides of the plant, without disturbing the whole root system. Then come back and finish the transplant a few weeks later, when the plant has recovered its original healthy look or all the leaves have fallen off and you are sure that the roots are still alive. If the plant does not look "recovered" yet, wait!