In your ornamental organic garden in November
There's still plenty of clearing up to do It’s been a strange autumn. Heat wave one moment, howling gales the next. And for many of us, definitely not enough rain. But we can still revel in the colours of the garden as it moves towards winter.
Late flowering asters are good feeding stations for insects

In your ornamental organic garden in November

There's still plenty of clearing up to do

It’s been a strange autumn. Heat wave one moment, howling gales the next. And for many of us, definitely not enough rain. But we can still revel in the colours of the garden as it moves towards winter.

Late flowering asters are good feeding stations for insects

Out now! The Organic Gardening Catalogue 2012 . Packed with useful gardening items. Perfect for Christmas presents!

Things to do in the ornamental garden this month

Clear out weeds that have been lurking hidden under bushy summer plants. This prevents annual weeds from seeding over winter, and perennials such as dandelions from becoming established.
Tie in climbing plants such as roses and other wall shrubs. Cut out any dead or dying branches.
Prune large shrubs of hazel (Corylus), and Philadelphus. Remove the oldest branches up to a 1/3 of the total bush.
Trees can be pruned now, if necessary. Ornamental cherries however are just as susceptible as fruiting cherries to silver leaf, so should NOT be pruned in winter.
Prune large roses back by about one third, to avoid wind rock.
Do NOT prune Clematis ‘Montana’ or Forsythia. These shrubs flower on growth that has matured this summer. Pruning now will remove the flowering shoots.

See the description here of the technique for pruning ornamental shrubs.
Herbaceous plants will die back quickly once the frost strikes. Mark the outline with a few sticks to avoid digging them up by mistake.

Last chance to lift and store dahlias
All tender plants, such as begonias, dahlias, summer flowering geraniums, and fuchsias should be under cover by now. Pot up plants and keep in a cool light place. Dry off tubers and corms and store in boxes of dry peat-free compost.
Lag outside taps and water pipes to prevent freezing.
If you have to walk on wet soil, stand on a plank to spread your weight. Walking on wet soil causes compaction and damages soil structure.
Protect newly planted trees and shrubs especially if your garden is windy. A short windbreak fence, made of several layers of Enviromesh for example, will help new plantings through their first winter.
Protect alpines from heavy rain. They tolerate cold, but hate the constant wet that is likely in British winters. A small cloche is enough protection.
Clear fallen leaves off evergreen perennials to keep their crowns from rotting under dead, damp foliage.
Cover hellebores with cloches, or fleece, to encourage earlier flowering.
Compost garden refuse. Don’t burn it. If your compost bin is full, bag up excess material and wait for the bin contents to subside. Add bagged material slowly over the winter months. Alternatively, move the contents out and cover with a sheet of plastic. This frees up the bin to start a fresh heap.
Autumn leaves

Local authorities often run a special promotion selling compost bins at greatly reduced prices. Check the following website for a scheme in your area: www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/.
Leaves can be collected and piled together to make leafmould – the best ever soil conditioner. Leaves falling on borders can be left in situ in most cases. They will rot and worms will take them down underground. This is all good for the soil structure. But don’t leave a thick layer where bulbs will be coming up in late winter / early spring.
If you don't own a shredder, hire one for the weekend to chop up all those woody prunings. They'll compost down much faster once they've been shredded. It works out cheaper if you can share one with neighbours.

Garden Organic members can see our factsheets:
Access to factsheets requires members' password. Find out more about Garden Organic membership here.

Lawns and hedges

Lawns may still need to be cut if the has been weather warm enough to allow growth.
You can mow the grass and collect up leaves at the same time. Set the mower blades a bit higher. Leave the chopped leaf/grass mix on the lawn and it will quickly disappear into the soil. Or add it to your leafmould or compost heap.
Keep off grass in frosty weather. It can encourage disease.
Spike the lawn to allow air into the roots. Top dress with bulky organic material. Feed with autumn lawn feed.
Last chance to lay turf this month.
Renovate deciduous hedges from now on. If extensive renovation is required, cut back one side, usually the slower growing side, this year. Wait until next year to do the other side. Evergreens should be renovated in spring.

Greenhouse

Clean the greenhouse, inside and out. No need to sterilise all the surfaces - a good wash and scrub with a stiff brush will suffice. Or use a power washer. Carefully sweep out all the spiders first – they are good garden predators. Choose a sunny day for this job and remove all the plants before you start.
Put up 'bubble wrap' to insulate the greenhouse over winter. Keep some cut lengths of fleece to hand, to cover vulnerable plants on cold nights.
Instead of heating the whole house for just a few plants, curtain off part of the space with bubble wrap and restrict heat to this smaller area.
Check all over-wintering plants for pests and diseases before bringing indoors. Cut off dead leaves, and scrape off the top 1 cm of soil. Replace with grit.
Clear away dead or dying leaves on sight. Fungal problems are very common at this time of the year.
Ventilate on sunny days.
Use grease or gluebands on bench legs to keep vine weevil adults from climbing up and laying eggs in pot plants. They are particularly fond of fuchsias, cyclamen and succulents.
See The Organic Gardening Catalogue www.OrganicCatalogue.com for grease and gluebands

Ponds

Cover ponds with pea netting or similar to catch autumn leaves.
In icy weather float a ball on the water to prevent it from freezing totally across.

Garden Organic members can see our factsheet, Troubleshooting in the Garden Pond.

Access to factsheets requires members' password. Find out more about Garden Organic membership here.

What to plant in November

Lonicera fragrantissima

Plant a scented winter flowering shrub next to your front door. Enjoy the fragrant perfume as you brush past on winter days. Christmas box, Sarcococca confusa, Viburnum x bodnantense and Lonicera fragrantissima are good examples.
Many hardy annuals can be sown outside now, including poppy (Papaver rhoeas) and pot marigold (Calendula officinalis). Cover with fleece to protect from cats and torrential winter rains. Fresh green seedlings sprout in early spring ready to give an earlier flowering display than those sown in spring.
Take root cuttings of Papaver orientale the oriental poppy, acanthus, brunnera and verbascum. Place in a cold greenhouse or cold frame over winter.
Plant trees, shrubs and hedging. This allows for some root growth before the soil temperatures fall.
Plant tulip and lily bulbs until the end of November. Lilies need a well-prepared soil, in sun or part-shade. Add some grit to the bottom of the hole for good drainage.
Containers can be planted up with bulbs to bring their colour and scent nearer to the house. Planting depth will depend on the bulbs chosen. Spring or summer flowering plants can be added so that the display will have year-round interest.
Extend the display by planting bulbs in layers using a deep pot. Arrange the layers according to flowering times, so that when the flowers in the first layer fade, they are replaced by the next fresh, floral show. Anemone blanda, Chionodoxa, Crocus, Galanthus and Tulipa will give a changing, long flowering display.

Make new plants

Hellebore

Pulmonaria

Review your herbaceous borders now. Aim to have something in flower year-round.
Dividing large clumps of perennials will create lots of new plants and refresh old ones. Pot up cuttings and offshoots; keep in a cold frame, or in a sheltered corner over winter, and plant out in spring.
Early flowering perennials such as Helleborus x orientalis and Pulmonaria (lungwort) may be potted up now and brought indoors in January for an unusual pot plant that can then be planted out after flowering.

Hardwood cuttings

When the leaves have fallen from deciduous shrubs, now is the time to take hardwood cuttings. Follow these easy steps to increase your shrub displays. Suitable shrubs include: Cornus, Salix (willow), Buddleja, Philadelphus, Prunus, Sambucus, Rosa, Berberis, Magnolia and Hydrangea.

Root cuttings

Root cuttings are easy to take and are a reliable way of propagating many herbaceous perennial plants e.g. Papaver orientale, Verbascum spp, Acanthus and Phlox.
Root cuttings are best taken in the winter from November to March. Further details here of the root cuttings technique.

Easy Perennials

This section gives you our suggestions of perennial plants that are looking good, are easy to grow and fairly free of pest and disease, making them a good bet for an organic garden.

This month, there are many grasses that will look good all through the winter and provide seed for birds and good hibernation sites for insects too.

Novembers stars are:
1. Calamagrostis
2. Stipa gigantea, Giant oat grass
3. Carex comans
4. Actaea simplex
5. Impatiens tinctoria
Further information about these perennials can be found here.

Unusual plants can be sourced by using the RHS plantfinder on-line. There is a listing of organic nurseries too.

Our organic guidelines give information on sourcing organic plants.

Pest & disease watch

Squirrels love digging up newly planted bulbs. Protect pots and new plantings with a cover of small mesh chicken wire now. Remove it when new growth is poking through the soil in spring.

Rose blackspot
Diplocarpon rosae

Rake up leaves under roses to prevent blackspot spores overwintering in the soil. Affected leaves have dark brown or black, often coalescing, blotches on both leaf surfaces. Prune out infected shoots and remove any remaining leaves before they fall.
Check large pots for vine weevil larvae. Where bedding fuchsias have been grown, you can be certain to find larvae. Clear out all potting compost and put into the green waste bin. Scrub out pots to make sure eggs are washed out.

Garden Organic members can see our factsheet, Rose blackspot for more details.

Access to factsheets requires members' password. Find out more about Garden Organic membership here.

Houseplant care

Christmas cactus

Houseplants suffer in winter. Pests proliferate in dry, centrally heated air. Poor light, dust and draughts reduce plant vigour, and plants are frequently overwatered.

Water plants from below. Allow to stand in water for 5 minutes only – use a timer. Then remove and allow excess water to drain before returning the plant to its normal position.
Water succulents and cacti only every 3 months between now and next March.
No need to feed plants between now and March.
Keep leaves free from dust. Wipe large leaves with a damp cloth. Wash small leaves off in the shower.
Mist the underside of leaves to keep humidity high. This deters red spider mite.
Keep plants out of draughts. Check for cold air by wetting your hand and placing alongside the plant. You’ll soon feel any draughts on your wet hand.
Cyclamen suffer from hot rooms and alkaline water. They do best in cool, north-facing positions. Water with rainwater if you are in hard water area. Always water from below.
Be vigilant. Red spider mite loves hot dry air. If your plant develops mottled leaves, look on the underside of for webbing and mites moving over the surface. They are minute and can be hard to spot. Fatsia japonica (false castor oil plant) is particularly susceptible.
Wipe scale insects off with cotton wool buds.
Don’t let pest populations take hold.

See The Organic Gardening Catalogue www.OrganicCatalogue.com for a range of pest controls suitable for houseplants.

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