Clear Out Spent Summer Pots and Hanging Baskets
It’s time to say goodbye to tired summer annuals and replace them with fresh and vibrant wintering bedding plants. Empty old pots and spent plants onto the compost, and clean containers thoroughly to prevent pests and diseases from overwintering.
Create Cheery Winter Pot Displays
Brighten your doorstep or patio with winter container planting, choose hardy plants that provide colour and texture through the colder months. Great options include:
- Heathers
- Cyclamen
- Winter pansies
- Skimmia
Mix evergreen foliage with pops of seasonal colour for containers that will lift your spirits all winter long.
Looking for ideas?
Take a look at our latest video where Al walks you through creating a beautiful layered bulb planter, step by step! Click Here!
Lift and Pot Up Tender Perennials
If you have tender plants like Canna’s, Banana plants, Bouganvillia and Citrus Tress, now’s the moment to lift them from beds or containers and move them somewhere sheltered. Pot them up and place in a greenhouse, conservatory, or bright frost-free spot.
If you have damp/clay soil, its best to lift any dahlia tubers to prevent them from rotting in the ground and store them over winter in a frost free location. Just lift them from the garden, trim back the foliage (if it hasn’t already died back because of frost), clean off the tuber under the tap, removing as much soil as you can, dry it off with a towel and then place it in a pot of dry compost covering the tuber, put in the garage or your greenhouse and leave it until the spring. If you’re fortunate to have good draining soil, then there is no need to lift, you can simply cover them with a good layer of mulch to protect them from the cold.
You can also move pelargoniums (geraniums) inside to protect them over the winter months and now is also an ideal time to take some cuttings to increase the number of plants. These are relatively easy to do so are ideal for first timers. Trim back any dead or leggy growth and reduce watering over winter.
Look especially under the rim of your pots for slugs and snails, and check the compost as you empty it for other harmful insects/larvae like vine weevils or chafer grubs.
If you find any, just leave them out in your garden on a hard surface as a treat for your birds or if you’re lucky enough to have one, your garden hedgehog.
Plant Evergreen Shrubs, Fruit Trees, and Hedges
November is a brilliant time for planting as the soil is still warm, and the cooler air reduces transplant shock. It’s perfect for establishing evergreen shrubs and trees, fruit trees (apple, pear, plum, etc.) and new hedging plants. This is also a good time to move any deciduous shrubs that are poorly placed or have outgrown their space. Don’t forget to water newly planted trees and shrubs during dry spells to help roots establish before the ground freezes.
Protect Your Pots from Frost and Waterlog
To prevent root rot and waterlogging, it’s a good idea to remove pot saucers, and raise pots off the ground using pot feet, bricks, or purpose-made risers. This helps excess water drain away and prevents frost damage to your containers.
Whilst removing the saucer, check the pots for any damage whilst you have them off the ground. Most pots are frost proof but any crack or chip will allow water to get past the pots sealed surface and make them more likely to fail, although the normal cause of winter pot failure is the expansion of the overwet compost literally pushing the pot apart, another good reason for using pot feet in the colder months to ensure that good drainage.
Rake Fallen leaves
Fallen leaves are a classic autumn sight, beautiful, yes, but they can also smother your lawn and harbour pests if left too long. Use a garden rake or leaf blower to clear paths, lawns, and garden beds, BUT don’t toss all the leaves!
Leaves are a great addition to your compost heap, adding nitrogen rich organic matter but its best to shred them first to speed up the process, this is easily done by running them over with the lawnmower.
Or you could turn them into Leafmould, once you have shredded them, just place them in a bin bag, moisten the leaves inside, slice a few holes in the bag and leave them to decompose. This will create a great ‘ super compost’ that can be used as a seed compost or added to normal compost or soil to add a boost. The best part is that once you’ve bagged it, you don’t have to do anything else, just leave the bags on a unused bit of the garden and wait for nature to take its course, but be warned, to get the best results can take a couple of years. If you have pine needles (say from an old Christmas Tree), the same process would make acidic compost which would be ideal for Rhododendrons or Camellias.
Mulch!
Once the garden is clear, one of the best things you can do for your plants heading into winter is to lay down mulch.
Why mulch?
It helps insulate roots from temperature swings, suppresses weeds and retains soil moisture. It also helps to build healthier soil as it breaks down. How to mulch? Shredded leaves work great, just make sure they’re dry and chopped to prevent matting. Spread a 2–3 inch layer around plants and over empty beds, but remember to keep mulch away from stems or trunks to prevent rot.
What is mulch?
Put simply it is a thick layer of organic matter that you use to cover the soil, it can be compost, manure, bark, leafmould or a mixture of any them. The purpose is to benefit the soil health and help feed the plants, with the positive byproduct of controlling the weeds and making a bed or border more pleasing to look at. It also helps retain moisture in the summer, so you water less, whilst also protecting the soil from heavy rains in the winter preventing waterlogging
Extra Tidy-Up Tips
Trim back dead growth from perennials, but leave some for wildlife if you can, they provide shelter for beneficial insects. Edge your beds, it gives a neat look and keeps mulch in place. Clean and store tools after you’re done. A little care now saves rust and hassle later.
Once you’ve cleaned your tools and before putting them back in the shed for the winter, give those blades a good sharpening especially on secateurs or shears, a few minutes with a sharpening stone or file will make a big difference when you need to use them again in the spring.