Jobs For November

I've now got a covering of fallen leaves I've regularly blown off the lawn on the side border, which will help protect everything from frost as they rot down and they will help to maintain the acidic quality of the soil for our azaleas, rhodos and camellias.
All the patio pots have their covering of bubblewrap and fleece and I've drilled a hole in the centre of all the Sankey pot movers, to allow any water to drain out to prevent the pots staying too wet.
I'll fill the holes with a dab of silicone when the weather gets warmer so they will retain some water and again prevent the pots getting dry.
I've sprayed the azeleas with Dilthane, those that get affected by lichen each year. When the leaves finally fall from our fruit trees and the tall acer in the front garden, I'll give them a spray of tarwash.
All the fuschias have "had it" but I won't cut them down until the spring as they give other plants a bit of protection from the wind.

 

Hi,
Would you spray new acers? Just got one this autumn and would like to give it the best chance.
Do you leave your pots bubble wrapped all winter? When would you remove it?

Cheers
D

 

Hi exlabman,

The bubble wrap is as much to hopefully prevent the frost from blowing out any of the pots as keeping in any heat picked up by the soil in them during the day. The most susceptible plants, orange, lemon, mimosa and olive are crowded up below the kitchen window. The vent for the central heating boiler is above and to the right the kitchen window, so some heat will be transferred to that part of the wall.
I'll keep the protection on the pots until the likelihood of temperatures being below freezing has gone.

I never do much with my Japanese acers during the winter. All the leaves are off and in the Spring I'll painstakingly prune off the "white bits" that form on the end of the thinnest branches and remove any of the few dead ones I get below the canopy. I get one or two every year but it produces far more than it loses. I'll then re-shape the "dome" by either tucking in new thin branches growing in the "wrong" direction or prune them.
I always spray them with an insecticide as soon as the buds show any sign of beginning to open. About ten years ago I got an infestation of aphids before the leaves had a chance of developing which put the big one back quite a bit that year, but with this treatment it hasn't happened since.
I've sprayed my fruit trees and the big broad leafed acer in the front garden with tar wash. They'll all get "sticky bands" round their trunks in the spring. The acer in the front garden would otherwise get infested by ants and those curly two-tone brown and white snails.

By the way, this is what I "do" as it works for me, it may not be what more expert people would recommend.

 

I'm trying to get the last of my tulips planted. I've been planting them in dribs & drabs over the past couple of weeks because it has either been bucketing with rain or we've had visitors or it's been to freezing cold & windy. Planted about 15 assorted Ballerina, Jimmy & Renaldo today, only 20 or so left to do including more of the afore-mentioned and also Golden Artist (not sure where to put them).

Otherwise, it's clearing leaves and plant debris from everywhere they have been blown by the wind.