November gardening tips from Barnsdale Gardens
My grandfather used to say that if you have a productive garden it will always need care showered upon it, no matter what time of year! These words of wisdom become apparent when we look at the long list of jobs that the Barnsdale Gardens team work through in November.
The East Midlands-based Barnsdale team, offer these handy tips for November below...
Plant Deciduous Shrubs
The ground has been warmed up all summer and now it has been rained on too. The warm and moist soil is the perfect environment for roots to grow away quickly and plants to establish prior to the cold weather hitting. To make sure you get the best possible rooting from any woody shrub always use mycorrhizal fungi sprinkled onto the root ball and in the hole, as this really does help the plant to root out into the surrounding soil.
Drain Hosepipes
To prevent them from splitting during cold, frosty weather and being ready for use when required, make sure there is no water in your hosepipe. It doesn’t need to be stored if you don’t have anywhere to put it, but if left outside any water gathered in a bend will expand as it freezes and could split your hosepipe.
Plant Tulips
Planting tulips a bit later is a good idea, as the colder temperatures will have killed off any disease that may infect the planted bulbs. It could be a good idea to pop yours in this month and do so three times the depth of the bulb. They can look much better when planted in drifts.
Remove Fallen Leaves
The Barnsdale team tend to remove fallen leaves from the beds and borders before doing so from the grass areas. Removing by hand is good if plants are in the way but, wherever possible, they tend to use a shrub rake or garden rake because it’s quicker. These leaves are then taken to one of the leaf bins for composting down.
Prepare Dahlias For Store
These days you could leave dahlias outside and wait to see if the weather turns bad enough to have to lift them, but it is preferable to do it now and get the job done! Lift the tubers, wash off excess soil and leave upturned for a week or two to dry prior to storing in moist compost.
There's plenty to see and do all year round at Barnsdale Gardens!