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. Here are your best bets so that you can have a garden full of beautiful blooms come springtime.
"While spring flowering bulbs won't show until spring, November is the month to plant spring flowering bulbs that require a cold period including tulips," Weber says.
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.
Certain herbs don't mind the cold: Thyme, rosemary, parsley, chives, and cilantro actually prefer cool temperatures. Some herbs are perennial, so you'll plant once and enjoy for years. Plant transplants now so you'll have fresh herbs for all the upcoming holiday feasts.
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.
Some of the best vegetables to plant in December include kale, microgreens, radishes, and asparagus. You may also get away with planting scallions or green onions outdoors, and an indoor herb garden will always thrive no matter the outside temperatures!
Any plant that is “hardy” in your zone is fine to plant in winter. These flowers have no problem with snow or frost and, in fact, need the cold. Here are some of my favorite flower seeds for winter sowing in January or February.
Pansies, violas, cyclamen, ivy and heather are all great plants for a winter display. Evergreen grasses are great for adding foliage, texture and height too. My posts on winter plants for pots and plants for winter hanging baskets have loads more plant inspiration.
Christmas Rose. This evergreen perennial blooms from winter to early spring depending on the selection and where you live (mostly early winter in warmer regions, and as late as February or March where it's very cold).
The December birth flowers are the narcissus (paperwhite), poinsettia and the holly. While poinsettias are more commonly associated with Christmas, they are also considered as birth flowers for December.
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.
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.
From early fall through most of November is one of the best times of year to plant spring-blooming bulbs, cool-season annuals and vegetables, as well as many trees, shrubs, and perennials. On this page: WHY PLANT IN FALL. SPRING-BLOOMING BULBS.
While planting grass seed in November is too late to make the fall growing season, there is a method called dormant seeding. Through dormant seeding, grass seed can be planted in November when the weather is cold enough to keep it dormant until the weather warms up in the spring.
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.
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.
There are a few bulbs that are winter blooming flowers. Dainty and delicate, snowdrops (Galanthus) are true spring harbingers. No bigger than a dandelion, they bravely push through snow and even ice to grace the garden with their dangling white bell blooms.
Pansies and Violas
These adorable flowers with little “faces” come in every color of the rainbow, and they don't mind a chill—so they'll last into late fall or early winter in many climates. In the South, they'll survive throughout most of the winter.