November Gardening Guidelines
With the end of daylight savings time, the shorter days, colorful tree leaves and incoming cold fronts confirm the changing of seasons. The first freeze of winter could be not far away, and plants must adjust to new conditions.
The temperatures have been cool enough to slow down growth of most plants. Cooler air temperatures, and little growth, means that we can be cutting back on our irrigation schedule. However, we do need the rain, and plants should not be allowed to suffer drought stress. Drought-stressed plants are more easily injured by freezing temperatures. This is particularly true of evergreen plants. Even though plants are not growing new shoots and leaves in late fall and winter, plant root systems are still very active and growing.
To prevent stress on lawns, trees, and shrubs, give the ground a good soaking if it continues to be dry. With cooler temperatures, water evaporates at a slower rate from the soil, and plants don't need as much water to keep the atmosphere around their leaves cool. So, you don't need to water as frequently in the fall and winter as in the spring and summer. Check the soil a few inches down to determine the need for water. If it feels dry, then irrigate.
The average first freeze for our area is in mid-November, which means it could come at anytime. It has come as early as October 20 and as late as January 4 back in 1966. Some of you may have already had the thermometer dip briefly to 32 degrees last week. It's time to make room in the house to overwinter tropical potted plants that have been growing outdoors.
Many houseplants can be damaged around 40 degrees, and tropical plants cannot stand a frost or even light freeze. Before bringing in your tropicals, check for bugs, tree frogs and lizards and other hitchhikers before bringing them in. A tree frog made it into our house this year, tucked away under some leaves.
A forceful blast of water will remove most unwanted six-legged insect “guests”. Scales look like lifeless bumps on leaves or stems, and in large numbers can suck away a plant’s life sap. Smash a questionable-looking "bump", looking for tell-tale signs of "bug guts". A cotton ball with rubbing alcohol can be used to wipe off scales. Check for snails and slugs on the bottom of pots or under debris on the soil surface.
Once indoors, cut back on fertilizer, and water your plants after the soil slightly dries. Do not allow water to collect in saucers, or you will end up rotting the roots at the bottom of the pot. Clay saucers will sweat, and can ruin carpet or wooden flooring. Elevate clay saucers on a plant stand or caddy, or use plastic saucers. Caddies are nice for larger plants that you might want to move about the house, reducing the strain of lifting large, heavy pots. Be sure caddies have sturdy castors.
If you have favorite tender plants you'd like to include in your garden again next year, then carefully dig them out of the flower bed, plant them in a well-drained potting mix, and keep in a bright, humid room. They may look terrible during the winter, but if they survive, you can replant them in the garden as soon as the soil begins to warm. Or, take cuttings and root them in a well-drained potting mix in a bright room.
Harvest all warm-season vegetables before a hard freeze ends production. As the summer vegetable garden fades and dries up, clean up the area, destroying diseased or insect-infested plants and compost the rest. Add compost, or rototill shredded leaves into the soil so it will be ready for spring planting. At the same time, add lime to adjust the pH if a soil test indicates a strongly acidic soil. You might be surprised at the increased performance of your vegetable garden next year.
Planting: Now that summer is over, it's time to replace summer flowers with winter-hardy flowers for seasonal color. Pansies are the number one choice for blooming bedding plants at this time of year. They're hardy, bloom over a very long season, and come in a wide array of colors. Visit your favorite nursery to see what new varieties have been developed for this year. Don’t overlook violas which are like miniature pansies, and the newer varieties give a lot of flower power for such small plants.
Other choice bedding plants include snapdragons, calendula, stock, primrose, alyssum, ornamental kale/cabbage, red mustard, Swiss Chard ‘Bright Lights’, pinks, dianthus, and sweet William. Some types with names you might not be familiar with but are worth trying include diascia, nemesia, linaria and erysimum (wallflower). Consider buying larger container sizes to get them established more quickly.
Some spring wildflowers can still be sown from seed in early November, including bluebonnets, Drummond phlox, rudbeckia and coreopis. Sow into a bare, prepared soil, very lightly cover with soil, and water immediately to initiate germination. If you plan on sowing into an area covered with grass or weeds, first cut the vegetation very short, then rake up as much as you can, so seeds can make it to the soil.
For digging and moving plants, wait until after a couple of hard freezes before transplanting. Plants will suffer less shock after they are completely dormant. Try to retain as much soil around the roots as possible to reduce transplant shock.
Newly planted shade trees, especially those with smooth, thin bark like maples and red oaks, are often injured by temperature fluctuations and strong winter sunshine. Prevent sunscald by wrapping the tree trunks with commercial tree wrap, or 4-inch burlap strips.
Odds and Ends: Early winter is an ideal time to adjust strongly acidic soils by liming with agricultural lime. Most lawn grasses and vegetable garden crops prefer a near neutral soil pH or slightly acid. Many of our East Texas soils are strongly acidic. The only way to know for sure is to soil test. Soils with known strong acidity may need liming every three or four years. Soil testing information is available at your county Texas AgriLife Extension Service office.
As winter approaches, make a landscape check for the thickness of mulch. Organic mulches like leaves and pine needles break down and need to be replenished periodically.
Once leaf drop begins in earnest, do not allow wet leaves to stay on the lawn. Wet leaves block beneficial sunlight and keep grass wet, increasing the chances of disease. Mow the lawn regularly to shred leaves into the turf, or rake them and add them to your compost pile. Leaves and grass clippings combined together make some of the best ingredients for creating compost.
As caladiums fade, dig up the tubers while you can still find them. Let them dry, and then store them in a dry, cool place. Use dry sawdust or peat moss to help keep the tubers from rotting.
With colder weather approaching, birds will appreciate your help in supplying food, water and shelter. Make sure feeding stations are located so you can see the action, yet the birds are not threatened by neighborhood cats.
Perennial and annual ryegrass can be sown now to cover bare soils to protect from erosion.
Keith Hansen is Smith County Horticulturist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service. His web page is http://EastTexasGardening.tamu.edu His Blog is http://agrilifeblogs.tamu.edu/mt/etg Texas AgriLife Extension Service educational programs are open to all individuals without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age or national origin.
