November is the perfect time to prepare your spring garden. With bulbs and bare-root plants in mind, you can successfully plant plenty of flowers in November. While you won't get to reap the rewards for a few months, November is the perfect time to prepare your spring garden.
Flowers to plant in November
If you want to have robust and strong spring flowers, November is the time to sow some of the hardy annuals, along with certain flower bulbs.
Vegetables to plant in November: Beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, collards, kale, kohlrabi, onions (seed & sets), radishes, spinach and strawberries. Vegetables to plant in December: Beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, kale, onions (seed & sets) and radishes.
Although each plant's needs may vary and some will be more winter-hardy than others, in general about a month before the last fall frost is sufficient in giving the plant enough time to establish itself and take root.
The date that your ground actually freezes varies from year to year, of course, and some areas won't have frozen ground at all. If you're unsure, mid-November is a safe planting deadline for nearly everyone. - Get everything in the ground before the ground freezes.
Late winter is 4 to 6 weeks before spring thaw begins. This could be any time in January to May, depending on your climate. Use your average last frost date and count back.
When to Plant in the Fall. Don't stick your plants in the ground mere days before the first expected frost. Your roses won't have time to get settled in and become established before the harsh winter weather hits. The right time to plant is about six weeks before the first predicted frost date in the fall.
Vegetables such as carrots, kale, and onions mature quickly (even from seed) and yield a healthy harvest before the first frost. There are also a few flower varieties that can last through the cold weather to add color and texture to your flower beds. November is still prime time to be sowing bulbs of foxglove as well.
The latest time to plant for most vegetables would be the second week in June with a short harvest time. If planting crops that mature within 50 days, you could plant those as late as the last week in June, but keep in mind the weather will be turning cooler, especially at night. Cool crops are best for late plantings.
Plant the tulip bulbs as soon as possible. Tulips and other spring-flowering bulbs can be planted as late as December if the soil isn't frozen. After planting, cover the area with several inches of straw, pine needles, or leaves. Mulching will give the bulbs additional time to root before the ground freezes.
That's right, even when the temperatures fall below freezing and a thick blanket of snow covers the ground, some flowers can grow tall. Many perennials, annuals, and shrubs actually bloom during the coldest months of the year.
The best time to start planting perennials in spring is from March and until May. Only put in frost-tolerant varieties if your zone is still likely to see cold weather; once the risk of frosts have passed, you can plant more tender varieties.
November in Southern California USDA Zone 10b is the perfect time to start a variety of fall vegetables and flowers. You can either start directly from seed or buy ready to transplant from your local nursery.
You can sow seeds for winter vegetable crops, like salad greens, radishes, carrots, onions, Swiss chard, English peas and kale. Look for transplants of other cool-season vegetables, including Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower. Herb transplants also appear in garden centers during winter.
Fall is a great time to plant another crop of spring greens such as spinach, leaf lettuce, arugula, mustard greens, and mâche because they require cooler soil for seed germination and they mature quickly.
Winter pansies are cold weather all-stars. These cheery winter blooming flowers can freeze solid and emerge from that state ready to grow and flower. Other bedding plant flowers that grow in winter include nemesia, snapdragon, sweet alyssum and flowering stock.
However, you may be wondering if it is possible to plant during the freezing winter months. The good news is that, yes, you can indeed plant when it's freezing outside, but there are a few things to know before doing so.
With that in mind, experts generally recommend flowers and other houseplants be brought inside or otherwise protected before the thermometer dips below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. For warmer-weather and tropical plants, that threshold is a bit higher, at around the 50-degree mark.
Still, some other plants can grow in mild winters. Root vegetables like garlic, carrots, and radishes grow well in cold temperatures. So do leafy greens like collards, kale, and cabbage. However, even most cold crops grow best if they're protected from frost and freezing temperatures.
What to grow for winter. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, kale, leeks and parsnips are hardy vegetables and will stand through the winter. Leafy crops such as chard, parsley and rocket should also over-winter with a little protection.