Gardening Guides
Great Lakes Gardener's November Checklist
So many seed heads and berries to admire as you prepare for winter and prep bulbs for forced indoor blooming
November is a last-chance month for Great Lakes gardens, when we finish the last of the garden tasks and admire the swan song of autumn before the start of winter. The garden may be going to sleep, but there's still much to see and even more to do.
Mums (Chrysanthem x rubellum 'Sheffield Pink') and other late bloomers provide opportunities to observe the last of the butterflies and pollinators.
Start bulbs for forced indoor winter blooms. Store them in darkness, watering once a week, then take them out when they begin to sprout. As a beautiful alternative to forcing in potting soil, hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis) and paperwhite narcissus (Narcissus papyraceus) can be forced in water in vases.
Outdoors, finish planting spring-blooming bulbs. If you run out of time or energy, put any remaining bulbs in a frost-proof pot and store them outdoors where they will receive moisture. In spring you can transplant the bulbs or keep in them in the container and add pansies (Viola) for a spring arrangement.
Outdoors, finish planting spring-blooming bulbs. If you run out of time or energy, put any remaining bulbs in a frost-proof pot and store them outdoors where they will receive moisture. In spring you can transplant the bulbs or keep in them in the container and add pansies (Viola) for a spring arrangement.
Finish garden tasks before the onset of winter. To prevent damage, empty out terra-cotta and ceramic containers before moving them and any garden ornaments inside for the winter.
Some ceramic pots are frost tolerant and can be left outside, but they should be stored upside down or in a place where they will not be exposed to moisture during the winter. A covered porch is where this container filled with the dried foliage of Baptisa 'Purple Smoke' spent last winter.
Some ceramic pots are frost tolerant and can be left outside, but they should be stored upside down or in a place where they will not be exposed to moisture during the winter. A covered porch is where this container filled with the dried foliage of Baptisa 'Purple Smoke' spent last winter.
Fall garden cleanup should be limited to clearing out vegetable gardens and diseased foliage in ornamental gardens. Remove and destroy the foliage of all herbacious peonies (Paeonia lactiflora 'Fen Yu Nu', shown here), as it can harbor the Botrytis fungus.
Resist the urge to make a clean slate of the garden; leave perennials standing until spring to enjoy winter interest and to improve the plant's chances of survival (here, the withered buds and foliage of a Japanese anemone, Anemone x hybrida 'Andrea Atkinson'). Wait until the ground has frozen to apply winter mulch of shredded leaves or pine straw, surrounding the base of the plant but not covering it.
Gather mophead hydrangea seed heads for dried arrangements. While Hydrangea macrophylla seed heads are most commonly used, the seed heads of Hydrangea arborescens 'NHCA1' (Invincibelle Spirit) are also attractive. Sedum (Hylotelephium sp) seed heads are also good for dried arrangements.
Keep mowing the lawn as long as the grass is growing and try to pick up all fallen leaves before the snow comes. Shred the leaves and set them aside for winter mulch. Chop up old holiday pumpkins and add them to the compost pile after removing the seeds.
Spray-on deer and rabbit repellant should be applied now to woody plants and evergreens. Most products last three months, which provides protection through the winter. Be aware, however, that very hungry animals may end up desperate enough to eat treated plant material. It's a good idea to provide some kind of physical barrier, such as poultry netting, to protect young trees and shrubs from marauders that will gnaw on any bark exposed above the snow line, potentially killing the plant.
Keep mowing the lawn as long as the grass is growing and try to pick up all fallen leaves before the snow comes. Shred the leaves and set them aside for winter mulch. Chop up old holiday pumpkins and add them to the compost pile after removing the seeds.
Spray-on deer and rabbit repellant should be applied now to woody plants and evergreens. Most products last three months, which provides protection through the winter. Be aware, however, that very hungry animals may end up desperate enough to eat treated plant material. It's a good idea to provide some kind of physical barrier, such as poultry netting, to protect young trees and shrubs from marauders that will gnaw on any bark exposed above the snow line, potentially killing the plant.
Savor the last of the fall blooms and fall color. In a normal season (unlike last year), a few stalwart plants keep blooming in November, such as snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus 'Snap Daddy Yellow'), sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) and mallow (Malva sylvestris).
As the last of the woody plants' leaves drift to the ground, gardeners will notice continuing fall color from ground-hugging plants as well. All of the perennial geraniums have beautiful fall color, but none has foliage as durable as that of the big-root geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum).
Semievergreen native woodland plants exhibit long-lasting fall color as well, such as foamflowers (Tiarella cordifolia 'Pink Brushes'), liverworts (Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa and var. acuta), coral bells (Heuchera sp) and foamy bells (Heucherella).
Enjoy seed heads, fruits and berries while they last. Many plants, such as the native Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium 'Phantom'), have attractive seed heads.
Crabapples (Malus 'Prairiefire'), winterberry hollies (Ilex verticillata), roses (various species of Rosa) and various Viburnum species have fruit that is ornamental and attracts wildlife.
Search for the earliest signs of spring. If you dread winter, go out and poke around on the ground in the garden, where new growth sprouts as a promise of spring from plants such as mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), trilliums (Trillium sp), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) and herbacious peonies (Paeonia lactiflora). Who knows, maybe you might even find a snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii, shown) getting ready to bloom.
More guides to Great Lakes gardening | Find your U.S. garden checklist
More guides to Great Lakes gardening | Find your U.S. garden checklist