New York City Garden Schedule for November
Reprint from: COUNCIL ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF NEW YORK CITY
Plants in your garden can suffer greatly during winter exposure from sunscald, windburn, drying-out and heaving of the soil due to freezing and thawing. Therefore, it is important to protect your plants in the fall.
TREES. On days when the temperature is above 40° and it is expected to stay above 40° for three consecutive days you should spray with miscible oil for scale and woolly aphids. If the weather is not cooperative then you can also try to do this in the spring before the buds are open. Burlap or tree wrap paper wrapped around the trunks of young trees (4” caliper or less) will prevent sunscald and windburn of the trunk. An anti-desiccant spray such as Wilt-Pruf will help prevent loss of moisture through the leaves and buds. A poly sprayer will make this easy; Wilt-Pruf is a thick mixture and requires a wide nozzle. This anti-desiccant dries in about twenty minutes and forms a protective film that inhibits loss of water vapor but allows gaseous exchange to take place. Be sure to thoroughly wash sprayer with soapy water after use or mixture will harden and clog your equipment. Read the manufacturer’s instructions for mixing information.
In addition, your young trees may need staking and guying to withstand winter winds. An old rubber hose can be cut up and wire run through it to provide loops around the trunk and stakes. If you are growing semi-hardy trees such as figs, then you should wrap the tree in burlap after tying up the branches. Evergreens can snap and break under the strong weight of ice and heavy melting snow. To minimize the surface, tying up these branches will help prevent accidental injury. Knock heavy snow off evergreens with a broom. Some tree experts claim that certain trees benefit in the spring from root feeding. Trees and evergreens should not, however, be fertilized now. Evergreens sometime require windscreens. You can make these out of old lumber, stakes, corn stalks or chicken wire covered with burlap. Small evergreens or other seedling trees can be covered with an upside-down bushel basket.
ROSES. The canes (stems) of your climbing roses should be removed from their trellis, and tied together, sprayed with an anti-desiccant, wrapped in burlap and laid on the ground to prevent windburn. Hardy bedding roses should have soil mounded up around the canes and mulched, preferably with leaves from healthy hardwood trees.
SEEDS. Some of the seeds that can be gathered to November are: Russian Olive, Barberry, Pyracantha, Viburnum, and Cotoneaster. Indications of ripeness are: Shriveling of the pod or cord or, in the case of Cotoneaster, the color or pliancy of the pulp. Clean the pulp from seeds by soaking overnight. Check a good gardening encyclopedia or library on storage and temperature requirements.
FLOWER BEDS. Check your Chrysanthemum beds for aphid infestation. Cut dead flower stalks back to ground. If ground is not frozen, Iris beds can be limed; summer and fall flowering perennials can be separated and transplanted to new locations. If you have Peonies, be sure that the drainage around the plant is good. Mulch Peonies lightly as too heavy a mulch can result in no flowers. Tulips may be planted as late as December if the ground remains unfrozen; they need at least five weeks of mild winter weather in order to form the necessary roots. You can keep the subterranean temperature above freezing by mulching well over late-planted Tulip beds. Be sure to keep bulb beds watered during dry spells. Materials for mulching include: salt hay, leaves, peat moss, coffee grounds, peanut shells, compost, bark chips, fiberglass, newspaper, and Christmas tree boughs. The use of old flower stalks and decayed stems, as mulch is poor economy as they can harbor disease and insects over the winter.
COMPOSTING. Gather leaves of healthy trees and compost or use as mulch. Where possible, compost large quantities of stable waste (manure and bedding straw) over the winter. If you have the space try window composting. If you have a separate leaf mold pile, be sure to keep it moist and shaded. Some leaves – oak, beech and hickory — are eminently suitable as winter mulch as they do not pack down and smother plants nor do they decay quickly.
POISON IVY. In November and December this plant is less toxic and harmful to handle. If you are so inclined, now is a good time to remove its roots and all. Be sure you wear old gloves and wash with Octagon brown soap after handling or use a specifically formulated poison ivy block and wash.
