November in Northeast Ohio presents a deceptive challenge. The colorful leaves have fallen. The first frost has blackened your basil. Your tomato plants look like crime scenes. Everything about the season whispers that gardening season is over.
But experienced Northeast Ohio gardeners know the truth: what you do in November determines whether you spend next April celebrating or scrambling to fix preventable problems.
Home and Garden
Why November Matters More Than You Think
The ground hasn’t frozen solid yet, which means roots are still active and soil amendments can still penetrate. Your perennials are entering dormancy, making this the last safe window for protective measures. And the bulbs you plant now will reward you with the earliest spring color when cabin fever hits its peak.
Skip these November tasks, and you’ll pay for it with dead plants, pest problems, and missed opportunities for spectacular spring blooms.
1. Plant Spring Bulbs Before the Ground Freezes
Tulips, daffodils, and crocuses need to be in the ground before it freezes solid. These bulbs require a cold period to bloom properly, and November is your last chance.
Plant bulbs at a depth three times their length. Add bulb fertilizer to the hole as you plant, and consider soil amendments that deter rodents from digging them up. Mark where you planted them so you don’t accidentally dig them up during spring gardening.
The bulbs going into the ground right now will be the first cheerful color you see after a long Northeast Ohio winter. Don’t miss this window.
2. Protect Your Vulnerable Plants
Some perennials won’t survive Northeast Ohio’s harsh winters without protection. Roses, mophead hydrangeas, and oakleaf hydrangea stems are especially susceptible to winter wind and weather damage.
Spray these vulnerable plants with anti-desiccant products, then wrap with burlap. Apply a thick layer of mulch around the base after the first hard frost. For roses, mound soil around the base to protect the graft union from freezing temperatures.
Use vinyl tree wraps around the trunks of young trees to protect them from deer, rabbits, and winter sunscald. This simple step prevents damage that can kill young trees.
3. Clean Up Leaves — But Not Everywhere
Fallen leaves create a thick blanket that can smother your grass and harbor pests over winter. Raking them up prevents mold and disease from developing in your lawn.
However, don’t bag all those leaves. Add healthy leaves to your compost pile or use them as mulch around trees and shrubs. Shredded leaves provide excellent winter protection for perennial beds. Diseased leaves should go in the trash to avoid spreading problems.
The key is getting this done before the first snow makes the job miserable and before the leaves mat down and damage your lawn.
4. Apply Winter Mulch After the Ground Freezes
Protect tender, shallow-rooted, or newly planted perennials with six to eight inches of winter mulch, but wait until after the soil freezes. Mulching too early keeps soil warm and encourages continued growth when plants should be dormant.
Winter mulch prevents the freeze-thaw cycles that heave plants out of the ground and expose roots to killing temperatures. It’s the difference between plants that sail through winter and plants that struggle or die.
5. Clean and Store Garden Tools Properly
Proper tool maintenance extends their life and saves money in the long run. Remove dirt and debris from shovels, rakes, and pruners before winter storage.
Sharpen blades on pruners and hoes, then wipe metal parts with an oily rag to prevent rust. Wooden handles benefit from a light coating of linseed oil. Clean out pottery and flip pots upside down if not in use for winter to prevent cracking from freeze-thaw cycles.
For pots staying in use, place risers underneath to prevent freezing onto hard surfaces and reduce cracking damage.
6. Plant Garlic for Next Summer’s Harvest
Garlic planted in fall develops strong roots before winter and produces bigger bulbs than spring-planted cloves. Break apart bulbs into individual cloves, keeping the papery skin intact.
Plant cloves pointy end up, four to six inches apart and two inches deep in loose, fertile soil. Cover the bed with mulch to protect them from extreme cold. You’ll see green shoots emerge in early spring, and harvest time comes in mid-summer when leaves start turning brown.
This simple November task provides one of the most satisfying harvests in your entire garden season.
7. Deal With Houseplants Before It’s Too Late
If you moved houseplants and tropicals outdoors for summer, November is your last chance to bring them back inside before a hard freeze kills them.
Rinse plants with a hard stream of water to remove insects. Move them into the garage or under a covered patio. Apply systemic insecticide to the soil, wait a week, then cut growth back to a manageable height and shape before bringing them indoors.
Lower light levels indoors means no feeding and less watering. Keep plants away from hot and cold drafts through windows, heat vents, and doorways. Mist houseplants regularly to replenish moisture lost to indoor heating.
8. Prepare Deer and Rabbit Protection
Spray all deer favorites with repellents before a hard freeze. If it’s too cold to spray repellents, fence vulnerable plants with burlap to keep deer from browsing through winter.
Hungry deer and rabbits do more damage in winter than any other season because food sources are scarce. The protection you install now saves expensive plants from being destroyed.
9. Start Your Compost Pile
Layer grass clippings, leaves, and garden cuttings and apply a compost accelerator on top. Starting your compost pile in November means you’ll have rich soil amendment ready for spring planting.
A properly maintained compost pile continues working even in cold weather, breaking down organic matter into gardening gold.
The Tasks That Can Wait
Not everything needs attention in November. Wait until late winter for major pruning, except to remove dry, damaged, or diseased growth. For first-year perennials, including new fall mums, don’t cut them back. The dead foliage provides natural winter protection and marks where plants should return next spring.
The Bottom Line
November gardening in Northeast Ohio isn’t about enjoying the process. Nobody loves raking leaves in 40-degree drizzle or planting bulbs with numb fingers. But the gardeners who push through these uncomfortable tasks are the ones posting photos of spectacular spring gardens while everyone else is still cleaning up winter damage.
The ground is still workable. The window is still open. But it won’t be for long. Every day you delay makes these tasks harder and less effective.
Your spring garden is being built right now, in November, whether you’re participating or not. The question is whether you’ll look back next April with satisfaction or regret.
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