Coastal Region- Christopher Burtt
- The first frost of the autumn can occur between October 15th – November 15th depending on the location. Winter protection should be done based on specific needs. Monitor weather services for frosts. Move all house plants indoors, carefully inspecting them for insects.
- Mulch garden areas and rake leaves only when necessary. Leave dormant perennials if acceptable.
- Turfgrass should be entering dormancy now. Clean mowers and sharpen blades in preparation for next Spring. Avoid applying nitrogen fertilizer, as this could increase disease pressure.
- Reapply pre-emergent herbicides to the lawn if needed, according to label recommendations.
- Monitor rainfall and irrigate the lawn as needed to avoid drought stress.
- Continue planting cool-season hardy annuals, spring flowering bulbs, cool-season vegetables (such as garlic), and woody shrubs and trees.
- Monitor for disease in evergreen shrubs and trees. Insect issues should be slower with the cooler temperatures, though they can still be an issue for Brassicas.
Newly emerged garlic.
Christopher Burtt, ©2023, Clemson Extension
More mature garlic.
Christopher Burtt, ©2023, Clemson Extension
Lantana frost damage.
Christopher Burtt, ©2023, Clemson Extension
Midlands Region – Jennifer Weaver
- Plants that provide color in the November garden are the flowers of sasanqua, witch hazel, fragrant tea olive, and the bright berries of holly and pyracantha.
- These perennials can also be found blooming in the November garden – hardy heirloom mums, ironweed, black-eyed Susan, goldenrod, swamp sunflower, salvias, Joe-pye weed and autumn crocus bulbs. Some have showy seed heads that can be left to provide winter interest and a food source for animals and birds.
- Pansies and violas, stock, and snapdragon are great options for annuals that thrive in cooler weather. Deadhead plants to keep them blooming instead of expending energy to produce seed. The ruffled, deep maroon or silver leaves of ornamental cabbage and kale can also be used to provide dramatic color and texture in the winter garden.
- Also, consider planting Chinese pistache, serviceberry, Red or Southern sugar maple, and ginkgo trees for outstanding fall color.
- Fall planting benefits trees and shrubs since it reduces transplant shock.
- When soil is warm and air temperatures are cool, plants are less stressed while their roots grow and become established.
- Lack of stress allows more energy to go into the production of feeder roots so the plant can begin strong, new growth in the spring.
- A healthy plant has enough stored energy in its woody twigs and branches to support fall root growth even though leaves are absent.
- Two things to consider when selecting a tree for your landscape are:
- The tree’s purpose – privacy, shade/energy reduction, windbreak, or as a street tree.
- Planting site limitations – hardiness zone, maximum height and spread for a tree in your space, and soil conditions.
- When watering newly planted trees and shrubs, maintain constant moisture in the root ball (not saturated) by using a soaker hose or drip irrigation. This encourages roots to expand out of the root ball and into the native soil, which is essential for establishment.
- Trees and shrubs establish quickest with light, frequent irrigation.
- In well-drained soil, provide one to three irrigations during the first few months after planting. Frequent watering is more beneficial to prevent the new feeder roots from drying out.
- Following the initial few months of frequent irrigation, provide weekly irrigation until the plants are fully established, meaning they are able to survive without additional water. At each watering, apply 2-3 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter over the root ball. Do not add water if the root ball is saturated.
- Areas of the garden that are not actively planted still need protection to support soil life and prevent soil erosion.
- How about trying cover crops? Their roots break up the soil, and if legumes are used, they add essential nitrogen.
- Mulches hold moisture, moderate soil temperature, and help prevent weeds from germinating.
- Top with an inch or two of compost, which will slowly work down into the soil, adding organic matter.
- Raking autumn leaves
- Allow organic material like leaves on the ground’s surface to slowly decompose, keeping the soil moist and protected from the sun and pounding rain, allowing it to stay crumbly and loose for planting.
- Good sanitation practices
- Remove and destroy mummified fruit and dead branches from fruit trees and on the ground to prevent disease and insect reinfection.
- Remove weeds and leaf litter underneath trees. Good housekeeping will help reduce reinfestation of insects and diseases the following season.
- Bulb is a loosely used term that includes corms, tubers, tuberous roots and stems, rhizomes and true bulbs. Plant popular spring flowering bulbs such as allium, crocus, tulip, narcissus (daffodil), snowdrops and scilla to provide early color before most spring annuals and perennials bloom.
- Daffodil culture: Daffodils have four basic requirements to grow well and produce abundant quality flowers: proper soil conditions, nutrition, sunlight and water.
- A spot with excellent drainage is crucial. If your soil is not well-drained, the bulbs will rot. Elevate beds, add organic material and mini-bark nuggets well spaded into the soil to lighten clay and increase water percolation.
- Bulbs contain stored food for the plant, so fertilizing will not help with this year’s performance. However, a slow-release fertilizer applied next fall will provide nutrition for their entire growing season.
- Select your site and prepare your beds. All daffodils thrive best in full sun, so choose a site that gets at least five or six hours of direct sunlight per day.
- Water is needed in the fall to ensure good root growth before freezing weather and in the early spring when active top growth begins to emerge. April and May are the most critical times for proper irrigation as the bulbs are manufacturing food for next year’s bloom. Plant in masses and enjoy next spring!
- If you keep your trees and shrubs as healthy as possible but still see evidence of scale insects, horticultural oils can be a control option. Because of their short residual, they can preserve beneficial insects. Make sure to read and follow label directions. Oils can cause damage to plants that are drought stressed or if they are applied when temperatures are above 90 °F. Do not apply if the temperature is below 45 °F or if rain is forecast within 24 hours.
Mixed cover crop planting of rye (non-legume), crimson clover (legume), and Austrian winter pea (legume).
Cory Tanner, ©2017, Clemson Extension
Pansies (Viola × wittrockiana) are cool season annuals that brighten up winter days.
Barbara H. Smith, ©2022 HGIC, Clemson Extension
Sourwood is a very important source of nectar for honeybees in the spring, with their beautiful racemes of white flowers on the ends of branches.
Paul Thompson, ©2021, Clemson Extension
The bright flowers of Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) are standouts in the fall garden.
Barbara H. Smith, © 2023 HGIC, Clemson Extension
Upstate Region – Robert F. Polomski
- Plant lettuce and hardy vegetables such as beets, cabbage, and spinach in cold frames for winter or early spring crops. Grow leafy vegetables such as lettuce, Chinese cabbage, and spinach in a cold frame or beneath a row cover for harvesting all winter long.
- Harvest kale by picking just a few leaves from each plant; this will encourage continued production of new leaves.
- There’s still time to dig, divide, and replant crowded perennials. Look for perennials that have grown out-of-bounds or have declined due to overcrowding and have developed a ring of growth with an empty center.
- Some bulbs resist attacks by squirrels, chipmunks, voles, and their kin. In addition to the popular choices of daffodils and colchicums (also known as autumn crocuses), you have several other choices. Common hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis), glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa), tommies (Crocus tommasinianus), crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis), dogtooth violet (Erythronium), grape hyacinth (Muscari), Grecian windflower (Anemone blanda), spring star flower (Ipheion), snow iris (Iris reticulata), ixiolirion, ornamental onions (Allium), star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum nutans), puschkinia, scilla, snowdrop (Galanthus), snowflake (Leucojum), Spanish bluebell (Hyacinthoides hispanica), and winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) all resist attack. Be mindful, however, that extremely hungry animals will eat almost anything.
- Keep your garden looking good while nourishing birds with perennials that offer attractive leaves, stems, and seed- heads. Ornamental grasses are at the top of the list with their beautiful seedheads and leaves that turn yellow, orange, red, or purple with the onset of cooler winter temperatures.
- Got an overgrown shrub that’s “too big for its britches”? Move it.
- Those small cone-shaped bags aren’t the fruits of your arborvitae or juniper. They house the eggs of bagworms, which have been feeding on your conifers. Besides feeding on the needles of juniper, arborvitae, Leyland cypress, spruce, and hemlock, they also defoliate the leaves of deciduous shrubs and trees such as black locust, buckeye, elm, maple, and willow.
- Heavy bagworm infestations can lead to branch dieback. Sometimes, trees can be killed outright, especially after having been completely defoliated over one or two seasons. Remove and destroy the bagworm bags. Eggs overwinter in the bags produced by the females and will hatch out next spring. Fortunately, several predators feed on bagworms, including birds and several ichneumonid and chalcid wasps that parasitize the larvae.
- Hand-pull wild garlic when the soil is moist to remove the entire plant—bulb and all. If you leave the bulb behind, it will resprout. Pull young, emerged weeds now while the task is easier and the weather is comfortable. By eliminating the weeds before they set seeds, you’ll also reduce next year’s problem. If you choose to use a broadleaf herbicide to control wild garlic, apply it when the air temperature is above 50 °F.
Although I vilify these voracious gourmands of the insect world, they still intrigue me. Like experienced architects the young caterpillars build spindle-shaped bags of silk and bits of leaves and twigs from their host plants. While the construction of each bag is similar, their appearance varies depending on the nature of the construction materials.
Bob Polomski, ©2023, Clemson Extension
