Category: sustainable fall pruning for insects and wildlife

To Do in the Garden: November 2026

On By durhammastergardenersIn Accidental Cottage Garden, pruning, sustainable fall pruning for insects and wildlife, sustainable fall pruning for wildlife, Uncategorized

By Gary Crispell, NC State Extension Master Gardener SM volunteer of Durham County (aka the Accidental Cottage Gardener)

November.  The ninth month of the year, right?  Well, it was until a couple of Roman egos got in the way.  I reckon they wanted to be remembered as balmy and pleasant and that’s why they didn’t just tack July and August on to the end of the year.  Egos—bleh.

So, it is the eleventh month and should probably be Elvember.  Named after the elves who live under all the mushrooms we would see if it should rain.  You remember rain, right?  No?  It’s that wet stuff that used to fall out of the sky.  (Not snow!  That’s COLD and wet and much less desirable.)

November is also a month of holidays.  We start with election day, then Veteran’s Day (thank you for your service, fellow vets), after which we have Thanksgiving for four days in the middle of which is Black Friday.  Oh, yes, it is a holiday.  You ask my Aunt Helen.

A vibrant flower garden featuring an array of colorful blooms, including zinnias and yellow flowers, surrounded by greenery and rocks, under a clear blue sky.

Accidental Cottage Garden border going strong as the end of the year approaches. (Image credit: Gary Crispell)

The Accidental Cottage Garden (ACG) looks pretty darn good considering we’re in month 14 (less July) of a drought and it’s November.  Perennial gardens aren’t supposed to look bright and perky in November.  Many of the perennials in the ACG have succumbed to the change in day length (the diurnal effect) and will reappear in the Spring.  There are a few stout souls who refuse to be defined by day length or drought, for that matter.

A garden area featuring a mix of flowering plants with yellow and pink blooms, adjacent to a blue house.

More Accidental Cottage Garden borders still flowering even as they start to senesce. (Image credit: Gary Crispell)

The hardy ageratum or mist flower (Conoclinum coelestinum) has been spectacular this year.  It has managed to fill the right-of-way ditch in front of the house.  African marigolds (Tagetes erecta) have competed with the ageratums to see which one can cover the most square feet.  Ageratum is ahead by a quarter of a ditch.  Both plants will have to be reined in next year.  My most dependable friend in the garden is the gallardia (Gallardia pulchella).  It starts blooming in mid-June and it is still hard at it.  They will continue until a killer frost bursts all their cell walls.

A cluster of yellow wildflowers growing near a rocky area surrounded by trees.

Swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolia) in the Accidental Cottage Garden. (Image credit: Gary Crispell)

The other long-blooming plant still kicking is black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta).  We love the variety of yellow/brown/black combinations they display.  If you are really into yellow, have I got a plant for you.  Swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolia).  She is YELLOW!!  And she is tall (6-8’).  There’s a stalk or six rough goldenrod (Solidago rugosa) still showing color, but the stars of the circus have been the annual (prolific re-seeders!) zinnias (Zinnia elegans) and cosmos (Cosmos bipinnata) that I sowed seeds for in May.  They have been the proverbial riot of color since August.  We have had continuous cut flower arrangements all Summer and Fall.

A vibrant garden filled with colorful flowers, including zinnias in shades of pink and orange, against a backdrop of trees and a clear blue sky.

Many colors of zinnias (Zinnia elegans) providing blooms into November. (Image credit: Gary Crispell)

I guess I have prattled on about long enough.  I suppose you are reading this to find out what can/should/might be done in the garden in poor misnamed month (in the middle of four misnamed months).  Here ‘tis.

LAWN CARE

Leaf removal is job #1.  If your lawn consists of warm season grass (Bermuda, zoysia, centipede), that’s about all you need to know.  These grasses will soon be going dormant not to be heard from until spring.

Should you have cool season grass (tall fescue, bluegrass, perennial rye) you are still mowing (3”-4”) and either bagging or mulching clippings and leaves (preferably the latter).  Bagged debris should be composted.  The landfill doesn’t need them.

If you overseeded or started a new lawn, be sure it gets ½” of water twice a week at a minimum.

FERTILIZING

Pretty much zilch here.  You can add lime to correct a low pH (<6.0) at a rate indicated on the SOIL TEST results you received from NCDOA.  (Come on!  They’re still free until the end of the month, y’all.)  Lime is best incorporated into the soil as it doesn’t move through the soil to the root zone very well.

PLANTING

Have I ever mentioned “FALL IS FOR PLANTING” before?

Trees and shrubs can be transplanted this month.

It is not too late to plant spring-flowering bulbs (daffodils, tulips, crocuses, etc.) but try to complete this task before the end of the month.

One-year-old asparagus crowns can be transplanted now.

PRUNING

Ahh, the perennial garden.  Any day now, if it hasn’t happened already, Jack Frost or his insidious sibling Harriet Hardfreeze will drop in for a visit and finish any destruction not previously inflicted by Minerva Moisturestress.  After that you need to ignore what your grandmother told you about cutting back the dead stems.  There may well be native solitary bees or other beneficial insect eggs in or on those stems.  Leave them, please.  Try to overcome your OCD (I did.  Well, not yours.  My own.) and think of them as winter interest.

A close-up image of a shiny black bee perched on a wooden stump, surrounded by blurred green foliage.

Small carpenter bee nesting in sumac stem. (Image credit: Heather Holm)

Dead or diseased wood can be trimmed from trees and shrubs.  When removing entire branches make the pruning cuts at the outer edge of the branch collar (the flair at the base of the branch) to promote quicker healing.

It is a good time to clean up the rest of the garden and landscape in general.  You can yank weeds and other undesirable plants (the definition of a weed) and toss ‘em in the compost pile.

SPRAYING

If you’ve been doing battle with lace bugs all summer hit ‘em with a good dose of horticultural oil and put the sprayer away…well, clean it first, of course.  (Might I suggest moving the offending azaleas to a less sunny location in the yard.  They are an understory plant and are stressed when in full sun thereby inviting the lace bugs which prefer stressed plants.  That’s your cause-and-effect lesson for this month.)

OTHER ENTERTAINING, ENLIGHTENING AND ENCHANTING ENDEAVORS TO ENJOY IN PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA IN AUTUMN

Take a leaf hike in your neighborhood or local park.

Make a leaf pile for your kids or grandkids to play in.

Invite the neighbors over for an evening around the firepit.  Hot cider and donuts are not optional.

Enjoy the last few user-friendly days of 2026.  They are numbered at this point.

May you have a wondrous Thanksgiving shared with people you love.

Resources and Additional Information

Edited by Astrid Cook Dail, NC State Extension Master GardenerSM volunteer of Durham County

To Do in the Garden: November 2024

On By durhammastergardenersIn Accidental Cottage Garden, bulbs, composting, dealing with fall leaves on lawn, drought tolerant plants, Durham NC, earth-friendly garden pots, fall blooming plants, fall gardening, Garden pests, garden tasks, gardening, Gardening calendar, Gardening information, gardening NC, lawn care, lawns, leaves, monthly garden tasks, nesting bees, nesting insects, Perennial, pollinator gardening, pollinators, pruning, soil samples Durham NC extension, soil test, sustainable fall pruning for insects and wildlife, sustainable fall pruning for wildlife, sustanability, Uncategorized

By Gary Crispell, NC State Extension Master GardenerSM volunteer of Durham County

(Left to right) The October surprise, or should we say November surprise, of the ACG is the New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae). Do you still have pumpkins and gourds hanging around through Thanksgiving? Each year an estimated 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins and gourds end up in landfills. Consider adding them to your compost or find a local participating municipality accepting them for donation. See below for more on Earth-friendly ways to deal with your organic decorations post-holiday.1 (Image credit: Dan Mullem CC BY-NC-ND 2.0; Melinda Heigel)

How ‘bout that October? Except for precipitation of any sort, there was something for almost everyone—a little hot, a little cool, and some stereotypical October Piedmont North Carolina, NC State Fair weather. There haven’t been very many State Fairs in my memory without some honest to goodness rain. We’ve been blessed unless, of course, you were trying to grow plants which is sort of what we’re all about here. So, mixed blessings? I mean, as fantastic as this area is, it still ain’t Camelot, Guinevere.


(Left to right) The ACG is still providing blooms this November. The drought-resistant African marigolds prove their hardiness. When planting for fall color, you can count on the New England aster and pink muhly grass to provide late-season interest. (Image credit: Gary Crispell; Jim Robbins CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

The Accidental Cottage Garden (ACG) is too stubborn to give in to the crazy droughty up and down weather. There are some tough characters out there. The toughest of which must be the gallardia (G. pulchella). It doesn’t know quit. The African marigold (Tagetes erecta) and the zinnias (Z. elegans) are also heat and drought tolerant along with the false vervain (Glandularia bipinnatatifida). (Somebody stayed up late naming that one!)


A delightful surprise this year is a lovely New England aster (Symphotrichum novae-angliae). It isn’t as erect as I might be as it was crowded in amongst some other things, and I didn’t become aware of its existence until recently. Next year. Most of the hardy ageratum (Conoclinium coelestinum) have succumbed to the drought and the shorter days. There are a couple of late-to-the-party purple cone flowers (Echinacea purpurea) and a stray black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). The muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) are looking a little thin and wispy, but I attribute that to it being the first year in the ground for them. Enough about my garden, let’s talk about what we can do in yours in November.

Lawn Care

Well, if your lawn has survived “No Moisture November” the main task for November is keeping it relatively leaf free. Whatever your remove from the lawn should be composted or used as mulch. The leaves do not belong in the landfill (or the ditch out front, for that matter). Cool season lawns (tall fescue, bluegrass, perennial rye) will still need mowing at the 3½” to 4” height.

The leaf admonishment pertains here, also. If you renovated/overseeded your lawn this fall it will need watering until the drought is done with us. 1” per week minimum applied in two ½” applications is necessary to keep it going.

Fertilizing

Not this month. If your (FREE until the end of November here in NC) SOIL TEST indicates a need to raise the pH, apply the appropriate the proper amount of lime and incorporate it into the soil if possible. Lime doesn’t readily move through the soil and incorporating the lime gets to the roots where it is needed.

Planting: Yes, “Fall is for Planting”

Trees, shrubs, and ground covers planted now will have all winter and early spring to put down roots in order to better withstand next year’s drought periods. (They’re coming. Trust me.) Spring flowering bulbs can still be planted until the end of the month. Year-old asparagus crowns can be transplanted now.

Pruning

So, for years (decades, centuries?) pruning all the perennials back as the blossoms faded (Grandma kept a tidy garden!) has been gardening gospel. Well, that good news is now obsolete news. It seems that solitary native bees and other pollinators lay their eggs on/in and/or nest in those stems for the winter. So, cutting them is detrimental to the pollinator population. Ergo, don’t do it anymore (unless the HOA is going to place a lien on your house for leaving them unpruned). (I don’t suppose the “It’s winter interest”, argument will get you anywhere.) Dead or diseased wood can be removed from trees and shrubs. Make any cuts at the branch collar (flared end) to promote healing of the wound.

Spraying

Any pests still hanging around can be treated with an application of a horticultural oil that will smother adults, eggs, and all phases in between.

Other Fun-filled and/or Fantastic Fall Frolics

Take a leaf hike through somebody’s neighborhood or a state or city park. There is a plethora of opportunities nearby.


Invite friends and neighbors over for an evening around the fire pit. S’mores, hot
chocolate, cider, and donuts are about mandatory. Anything else is optional.

Do anything else you can think of to get yourself outdoors to enjoy these last user-friendly days of 2024.

(Image credit: Pixabay)

May you have Thanksgiving bountiful enough to share.

Notes

1–Eco-friendly ways to dispose of pumpkins and gourds after the holidays: https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2021-10-08-dealing-pumpkins-after-halloween-debunking-social-media-advice

Resources and Additional Information

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