Watch the weather! Mississippi is known for its unpredictable weather; don’t let a sudden cold snap ruin your plants. Bring cold-sensitive container plants indoors and apply 6 to 8 inches of mulch in your garden or flower beds to protect tender plants. Extension Publication 2301, “Mulches for the Landscape,” provides great info on the benefits and different types of mulch available.

November Garden Calendar

Protecting

• Protect moveable plants from sudden changes in temperature by bringing them indoors.
• Protect tender plants by placing layers of mulch, or pine straw, to a depth of 6–8 inches.
• Water plants well if there is a frost warning. Otherwise, water as the plants begin to thaw.

Planting

• At the end of the month, plant tulips and hyacinths that have been in the fridge for 6 weeks.
• Plant many types of bare-root trees: fruits, nuts, or citrus.
• Plant dormant shrubs: azaleas, camellias, nandinas, wax Ligustrum, Indian hawthornes, pyracanthas, mock oranges, hydrangeas, flowering quince, and spireas.
• Plant herbs for a sunny window: tarragon, chives, oregano, marjoram, and rosemary.

Pruning

• Prune trees to remove damaged or dead wood only.
• Cut off the tops of brown perennials; leave roots in the soil.
• Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs.
• Ferns will come back from the ground; cut back brown fronds.
• Cut mistletoe out of trees.

Indoor Plants

• House plants to consider: African violets, amaryllises, begonias, bromeliads, Christmas cacti, dieffenbachias, ferns, philodendrons, scheffleras, and weeping figs.
• Feed houseplants twice during the winter months.

Miscellaneous

• To maintain a live Christmas tree in good condition, mix in a 2-liter bottle: 8 oz non-diet soda, 2 oz vinegar, and 1 oz mouthwash. Fill the bottle with water. Keep the base of the tree in this solution. After Christmas, have your tree turned into mulch.

Blooming

• Fatsias, Otto Luyken laurels
• Narcissus, amaryllis

Fruiting

• Beautyberries, dogwoods, pyracanthas, yaupons, burning bushes, Chinese hollies.