November Diary

Lavender

November is ideal for freshening up your outdoors, and getting ready for summer entertaining in the garden. Add bursts of colour with flowering plants, or spruce up your outdoor furniture setting. You can also summer-proof your lawn now, for long lazy days ahead.

What's flowering in November?

• Trees & shrubs: Magnolia grandiflora, ceanothus, duranta, flowering cherry, gardenia, hibiscus, jacaranda, lavender, NZ Christmas bush, plumbago, rhododendron.
• Natives: Boronia, bottlebrush, flame tree, Geraldton wax, melaleuca, native frangipani, NSW Christmas bush, silky oak
• Annuals & perennials: Ageratum, delphinium, French marigold, gazania, gerbera, lobelia, nasturtium, petunia, portulaca, salvia, snow-in-summer.
• Bulbs: Agapanthus, arum lily, calla lily, canna, hippeastrum, iris, November lily.
• Climbers: Bougainvillea, star jasmine, jasmine, stephanotis.

What to plant in the garden in November

• November is a wonderful month for planting a range of beautiful blooms including alyssum, calibrachoa, columbine, cornflower, cosmos, daisy, delphinium, gazania, geranium, gerbera, penstemon, petunia, snapdragon, New Guinea impatiens, salvia and stock.
• It’s time to plant container-grown trees, shrubs and climbers of all kinds, including dwarf fruit trees. Remember to pop a saucer under your pots to help retain moisture and to prevent stains on your pavers or deck.
• November offers an edible smorgasbord. Plant beans, beetroot, capsicum, carrot, celery, eggplant, herbs, lettuce, parsnip, pumpkin, rockmelon, sweet corn, tomato and zucchini. As you harvest, replace spent plants with seasonal crops so there's always something delicious growing!
• Now’s the time to create a water feature in your garden - whether it’s a shallow bowl or a pond - with aquatic plants including water iris and water lilies.
• Encourage frogs to your garden by planting groundcover, small shrubs and grasses.

Which plants to feed in the garden in November

• Give rose bushes some love with an application of Sudden Impact for Roses, making sure it's watered in well. 
• Now is a great time to feed your palms with a specialised fertiliser, such as Searles Palm Food.
• Give veggies and summer-flowering annuals complete fertiliser or a dressing of blood and bone.
• Acid-loving plants including daphne, azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons will appreciate a feed at this time of year. Use a specially-formulated acidic fertiliser like Neutrog Kahoona for best results.
• Get your NSW Christmas Bush into the Christmas spirit with a colour-intensifying application of Yates Leaf Greener Iron Chelate.
• Support your bougainvillea and hibiscus plants to produce amazing flowers with an application of Searles Hibiscus and Bougainvillea Food.
• Got a clay soil? Dig in some gypsum now to help soften the clay and make it easier to water. Not sure what soil type you have? 

Which plants to prune in the garden in November

• Prune any spring growth which is fading in the heat. You can also cut back plants that don’t like summer heat, like lavender. 
• Trim jasmine polyanthum to keep it under control.
• Prune climbing roses to shape after flowering. For all other roses, now's a good time to cut the flowers for indoor displays - this will help prolong flowering.
• Lightly prune native shrubs after flowering.
• Spring bloomers fading? Pinch off dead blooms to encourage more flowers.
• Cut off strawberry plant runners to help redirect your plant's energy toward producing fruit.
• Love a good topiary? Now’s the time to trim buxus and lilly pilly topiaries to help keep their shape.
• Now's an excellent time to trim and divide clivias.

Garden pest, weeds and diseases to look out for in November

• Protect edible plants, including fruiting trees and ripening vegies, against fruit fly with fruit fly bait.
• Keep lace bug away from azaleas with Yates Baythroid or eco-oil, an organic alternative.
• Keep your eyes peeled for bronze orange bug on citrus trees. If spotted, be sure to remove and destroy - wearing eye protection, of course, as they may spray you! 
• Apply Nature's Way Vegetable Derris Dust to prevent beetles attacking pumpkins, cucumbers and melons.
• Caterpillars are on the hunt for annuals and vegies. Use Nature's Way Caterpillar Killer Dipel or Success Ultra Insect Control to keep them away.

General garden and lawn care in November

• Feed your lawn now so that it's lush and green by Christmas. You should also cut your lawn as high as you can to keep it looking well-maintained as well as help shade the roots and reduce water loss from the soil.
• With summer just around the corner, it’s time to summer-proof your lawns and gardens with a little care and attention. Apply Seasol to your lawn and plants as a health tonic to help them cope better with the summer heat.
• Tender seedlings may suffer in the heat over the next couple of months. Keep them protected with some temporary shade.
• Water citrus and fruit trees regularly to ensure healthy fruit. Keep outdoor container plants well watered. Place saucers underneath outdoor pots.
• Make sure your garden beds are well mulched, ready to capture and retain the November rain. Place some Dynamic Lifter or cow manure under the mulch to give the plants a boost. If you need to top up your mulch, do it after a good watering (or some rain!)
• Once tomato plants begin to set fruit, keep them well watered and fertilised and prepare for fruit fly. A bait like eco-naturalure is your best defence.
• Divide and re-pot orchids if they have formed a dense clump, using a quality orchid potting mix.
• Put out some shallow water bowls and dishes for thirsty wildlife. Make sure that you pop a couple of sticks and stones in the bowl too, so that smaller insects and animals can escape if they fall in.

Your November garden centre shopping list

• Heat-loving herbs such as basil, coriander and chilli.
• Fruit and flower fertiliser for all fruit and vegetables.
• All Australian natives.
• Nature's Way Caterpillar Killer Dipel or Success Ultra Insect Control to ward off hungry caterpillars.
• Mulch.
• Orchid mix.

---

Courtesy of Flower Power: https://www.flowerpower.com.au/