Planting in Late Fall

Should you plant in November?
Plants are the happiest in soil!
Perennial plants that are come back every spring.
Annual plants die after frost and only come back from self-seeding.

Annual plants can be kept in pots over the winter.
To save bulbs and rhizomes, wash them, dry them off and place them is sawdust or sand.
Keep them in cellars or garages at maximum 50 C, in dark  and cool places that are frost-free.
You will be replanting these in spring.

When you buy a plant and take it home, plant it as soon as possible.
Plants are happiest in the ground, not in the soil or in pots where they may get stressed.
I bought a lot of plants in October and kept putting off the planting day.

Now, on November 14, we are at the third frost and the temperatures are quite low – 0.5 – 1 C.

I kept reading to see if I could plant them today, given that during the day it was sunny and 10 C

I understood from studies that we can plant at any time of the year, if the soil has a temperature above freezing

So, as long as the ground is not frozen solid, you can plant in the permanent places.

So, plant it!

In preparation for winter, I will make a mound of soil around the plants’ roots.
Alternatively, I will cover their root with cut leaves or straw.
Here’s how you can cut leaves… on plants. 🙂

Since they are cut, dried leaves will decompose more easily than whole leaves and provide nutrients.
Add more leaves or mulch over the plants, now, so they do not freeze in the winter.

Use rodent bait stations in the areas with many leaves or straw piles, as these materials can become nests,.

Not good, especially near the roots of large plants and trees.
In winter, rodents can feed on tree trunks . Gnawing away at the bark and cambium layer, can be fatal to the tree.

If you have rose bushes, do this:

1. Mulch them with a shovel of soil for each rose or, better, a shovel of manure;
2. Tie them with string, all around, to stay compact, so that the snow and the wind do not break their branches;
3. For climbing roses, the long branches will be stabilized so that they are not affected by wind and snow;

The mound of soil or manure will protect the roots so that the rapid freezing and thawing will not kill them.

I don’t recommend autumn cuts, only spring and “green” cuts.

If you have bought bulbs of tulips and hyacinths or daffodils, it is not too late… plant them now at a depth of 3 times the height of the bulb.
Thus, when the early heat and sun give the signal, the bulbs will come out more difficult, being planted deep.
When there is a frost, only the plants that were planted close to the ground will die.

Success!