Your Gardening Tasks — November 2026
Your gardening calendar for 1 November–30 November 2026. Adjust timings for local weather and soil conditions.
Your gardening tasks
2026-11-01 — Prepare dahlias for frost-free winter storage
Check the dahlias discussed in your notes, including the plant previously affected by suspected powdery mildew. Once frost blackens the foliage, cut stems to 10–15cm, remove fallen and affected foliage, and lift the tubers carefully without damaging them. Label each clump and dry upside down under cool, frost-free cover. Once dry, pack in an open box with dry sand or spent compost, leaving stalks exposed. Keep frost-free and inspect monthly for rot; mildew on the foliage alone is not a reason to discard healthy tubers.
Timing and precautions: Treat this date as a check rather than an automatic cutting-back date. Follow actual foliage and frost conditions in Bracknell; if frost is late, aim to lift by late November as recommended in your storage notes. If already stored, simply inspect the tubers.
2026-11-07 — Manage fallen leaves without stripping the borders
Collect fallen leaves from paths and, if present, the lawn. Following your pond-care notes, gently skim leaves from the water before they sink, checking removed material for wildlife and returning any creatures promptly. Avoid draining or extensively disturbing the pond. Leave the recorded Hylotelephium flowerheads standing for winter interest and insect shelter, rather than cutting the whole border down.
Timing and precautions: Repeat through November while leaves are falling. Autumn leaf removal helps limit decaying material entering the pond; Hylotelephium cutting back can wait until spring.
2026-11-14 — Take weigela hardwood cuttings after leaf fall
If you have access to the weigela discussed in your propagation notes, select healthy, firm shoots grown this year. With clean secateurs, prepare 15–25cm cuttings, cutting straight below a bud at the base and sloping above a bud at the top. Insert about two-thirds of each cutting into a deep pot of free-draining compost. Label, water to settle and keep outdoors in a sheltered position. Maintain moisture without waterlogging and leave undisturbed to root.
Timing and precautions: Late autumn is suitable once the plant has naturally lost its leaves. Postpone if it remains leafy or conditions are severely frosty. This is selective propagation, not a general pruning session.
2026-11-21 — Start the apple-pip growing experiment
If you still want to grow an apple from seed and have not already started, wash several ripe pips and place them in slightly damp sand in a labelled container in the fridge at 3–5°C. Record the starting date and check regularly. Pot up any sprouting seeds about 1cm deep in peat-free compost, keeping it moist rather than soggy. Remember that seedlings will not reproduce the parent apple variety reliably.
Timing and precautions: Starting the three-to-four-month chilling period in November prepares seeds for late-winter or spring sowing. If chilling is already underway, retain the original start date rather than restarting it.
2026-11-28 — Review the proposed woodland border before ordering
Use the woodland-area version 2 proposal to mark possible planting positions without disturbing existing plants or hard landscaping. Ask your adviser to confirm soil suitability, drainage, mature sizes, spacing and quantities, especially for the proposed rhododendrons. Treat the listed plants as proposals, not confirmed purchases or existing planting. Note where spring bulbs and primroses could fit between established roots, and retain the intended transition from lower planting to shrubs.
Timing and precautions: Late November is useful for reviewing the layout as deciduous foliage falls. Planning can continue when planting is unsuitable; postpone digging or planting whenever the ground is frozen or waterlogged.
Gardening projects
- Start a bag of leaf mould: Turn collected autumn leaves into a future soil conditioner for suitable parts of the woodland border. Dampen dry leaves, place them in a reused bag with air and drainage holes, and leave in a shady corner, checking occasionally for moisture.
- Plant a pot of spring colour: A manageable way to develop the spring-colour ideas in your notes while the woodland scheme awaits confirmation. Use a container with drainage holes and follow bulb-packet depths; November is suitable for the project's optional tulips.
Further seasonal advice: GardenAdvice gardening calendar. Weekly gardening projects and instructions.
