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  • HOME
    • About Master Gardener Volunteers
    • 2023 Master Gardener training
    • Demonstration GARDEN
  • Request Our Help
    • Horticulture Help Desk
    • School/Community Garden Consultation
    • Speaker
  • Garden Zone
  • GARDEN CALENDAR
    • January winter
    • February to do list
    • March timely tips
    • April 15th last frost
    • May spring frenzy
    • June garden tasks
    • July summer tasks
    • August hot summer
    • September gardens
    • October fall begins
    • November planting
    • December gardens
  • Our Publications
  • Videos
  • Consider a Donation


​November 
Garden Tasks
​in the Piedmont

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In November, you can't miss seeing the Gingo tree from our Freedom Park Demo Garden

Overview

  • Nov. 15th is typically the time for the first frost in the Piedmont region.  
    • Protect tender garden plants on the first nights of frost with over-turned cardboard boxes, newspaper, bed sheets/pillowcases or burlap.  Often, such precaution will reward you with several more weeks of bloom. 
    • Remove all dead foliage and clean up vegetable and flower beds after the first killing frost.   

Trees and Shrubs

November
  • Plant and transplant trees, shrubs and groundcovers.
    • Continue deep watering of newly planted evergreens, trees and shrubs until freezing weather occurs.  ​
  • Choose deciduous trees now so you can buy them for fall color while they still have leaves.
    • Popular choices include Chinese pistachio, maple, persimmon, redbud, sourwood and crape myrtle.  
  • ​Take root cuttings now of woody shrubs and evergreens, such as azalea, holly and hydrangea. 

Perennials, Annuals & Bulbs

  • Perennials:
    • Dig, divide and replant overcrowded perennials that have finished flowering. 
    • Cut back peonies after the first frost.  
    • Cut cannas just above ground level and remove the debris to avoid over-wintering leaf rollers.  
  • Bulbs:
    • Spring flowering bulbs are still available (daffodil, Dutch iris, freesia, anemone, oxalis, ranunculus, hyacinth, crocus and tulip).
    • Plant paper-white narcissus in stones in bulb pan in early November to have blooms for Christmas; continue bulb forcing through late winter.  

Vegetables and Fruits

  • Plant:
    • Asparagus crowns
    • Strawberry plants
    • Onion sets and garlic   
  • Mix in compost to top 2 inches of soil
  • Mulch warmth-loving fruit trees like figs and pomegranates     
  • Prepare vegetable beds for next spring
  • Add organic matter but wait till spring to fertilize.

Lawn & Landscaping

  • Start or repair cool-season lawns
  • Overseed warm-season lawns with cool-season grass 
  • Fertilize fescue lawns to promote root development without excessive top growth  
  • Water newly planted lawns in low rain areas to keep them moist for seed germination  
  • Clean up leaf litter to control slugs and snails by removing their hiding places. 

Indoor Gardening

  • Houseplants:
    • Don't water until the soil feels dry
    • Water thoroughly, let the water soak in
    • Water again until water drains into the saucer
    • Empty the saucer within an hour.  
  • Watch for spider mites on your houseplants (they thrive in dry air)
    • At the first sign of any insect infestation, isolate that plant.  

Always more to do

  • Discourage winter weeds:
    • Put a pre-emergent down
    • Cultivate or mulch around bedding plants, shrubs and trees  
  • Check house gutters for fallen leaves, needles, and twigs
    • Heavy fall rains will quickly overflow clogged gutters, possibly damaging foundation plants below them.  
  • Keep the compost heap moist to aid in the decay process
    • Turn the pile to mix in additions
    • Throw leaves, weeds, spent annuals and vegetables into the compost pile
    • Add fertilizer residues from nearly empty bags onto the pile and mix  
  • Keep your shears and loppers in good working order
    • Wipe with a rag dipped in paint thinner to remove sticky resins
    • Sharpen and oil thoroughly  
  • Order seed catalogs now for garden planning in January
    • Consider companies that specialize in old and rare varieties or wildflowers  
  •  Test your soil
    • It's free this time of year, other than the postage
    • Kits are available from the Mecklenburg County Extension Office, 1418 Armory Drive, Charlotte.   
Mecklenburg Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteers   
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 ​The Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program is a part of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service and North Carolina State University
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