What to plant in November

November planting at a glance

November planting: the short version

Job	What the RHS says
Tulips	Plant the bulbs now. This is also the last chance for winter bedding such as wallflowers and winter pansies.
Roses	An ideal month to plant them, but not where roses grew before.
Hedging, trees and shrubs	Bare-root plants arrive this month. Plant them promptly before they dry out.
Fruit trees and bushes	Plant them if the ground is not frozen or waterlogged.
Garlic	Plant cloves in modules in a cold frame, or outdoors in mild areas with free-draining soil.
Broad beans	Sow overwintering kinds outside or under cloches in mild areas, or in pots in an unheated greenhouse.
Lifting	Lift dahlias, cannas and tuberous begonias after the first frosts have hit them, and store them.
Feeding	Do not feed. The plants have stopped growing and the nutrients wash into rivers.

The one rule: the ground

Almost everything below goes into soil, and the same caution applies to all of it. Don't plant when the ground is frozen or waterlogged. If bare-root plants arrive on a day like that, heel them in for a short while, which means burying the roots temporarily, until conditions improve.

Bulbs and winter bedding

This is the month for tulips. The RHS jobs list says to plant tulip bulbs now. Some tulips persist from year to year, and others perform less well and are treated as bedding. Our tulip planting guide covers depth, spacing, pots and what to do if you're late. Lily bulbs can still go into pots too. Bring them inside next spring to force an early display, or leave them out to flower naturally in summer.

It's also the last chance for winter bedding. Wallflowers, forget-me-nots, Bellis, Primula, winter pansies and other spring bedding all go into well-prepared ground, or into pots of suitable compost.

Lifting is the other bulb job. Dahlias, cannas and tuberous begonias that have been hit by the first frosts should be lifted and stored. Our guide to growing and overwintering dahlias has the method.

Roses

November is an ideal time to plant roses. Avoid planting where roses grew before, because new ones can suffer from replant diseases, also called rose sickness. For pruning the ones you already have, see when to prune roses.

Trees, shrubs and hedging

Bare-root deciduous hedging, trees and shrubs become available this month. Plant them promptly before they dry out. Bare-root plants are more environmentally friendly, because they don't come with plastic pots and are lighter to transport, and they often establish better. Potted trees and shrubs, such as evergreens and large specimens, can still be ordered and planted.

Give new planting some cover. In a cold snap, a temporary windbreak of reused netting helps where there's no natural shelter, as does straw packed around deciduous plants. Biodegradable guards keep deer, rabbits and squirrels off the bark. You can also transplant things that are in the wrong place. If they're more than a couple of years old, you're better off leaving them and planting new ones. It's hard to lift a big enough rootball.

Hardwood cuttings are a free way to add shrubs. Cornus, Euonymus, Forsythia, Hydrangea, Ilex and Salix all root this way.

Fruit and the vegetable plot

November is a good month for planting new fruit trees and bushes, if the ground isn't frozen or waterlogged. Prune what you already have in winter, and our guide to apple trees says when.

In the vegetable plot, plant garlic cloves in modules in a cold frame. Or plant outdoors in mild areas where the soil is free-draining and rainfall is low. Sow overwintering broad beans outside or under cloches in mild areas with well-drained soil, or in pots in an unheated greenhouse where it's colder. The month-by-month picture is in our vegetable planting calendar.

Jobs that go with the planting

A few other November jobs from the RHS fit the same afternoon. Don't feed plants this late. They've stopped growing, and the nutrients can wash into rivers and streams with the winter rain. Do mulch borderline hardy plants such as agapanthus, kniphofia and phygelius, and bring tender plants and bulbs inside or into a heated greenhouse. The RHS also lists putting out bird food to encourage winter birds into the garden. Our garden birds guide covers what to put out and how to keep it clean.

Clear leaves from around the borders. They can go on the compost heap, or into a separate bin to make leafmould. Some, such as plane and sycamore, are slow to break down and can delay your compost if you mix them in. Take stakes and supports away as the last late-flowering perennials die down.

What's flowering in November

If you'd like something in flower now, the RHS's winter interest list gives these, with the months it quotes:

• Mahonia × media 'Charity': yellow flower spikes in November and December
• Clematis cirrhosa: cream flowers from November to March
• Iris unguicularis: lilac flowers from October to March
• Arbutus unedo: white or pale pink flowers between October and December
• Hamamelis × intermedia and Helleborus niger: December to March

Hellebores deserve a note. They rarely flower naturally by Christmas, whatever the common name. You can nudge them along with cloches, or by potting them up and bringing them into a warm greenhouse or onto an indoor windowsill. Hellebores in the Snow is a scene of hellebores flowering through snow, and the Christmas gifts for gardeners page has more winter pieces, and anyone who overwinters plants under glass may like our greenhouse gifts.

Before you go back indoors

Take a photograph of the garden while the frost is on it. Upload it and choose a style or a plain print. For the dates that matter, our frost dates page shows when the first autumn frost usually arrives where you live. Next month's job list is in what to plant in December.

Sources

• RHS: November jobs
• RHS: November, flowers
• RHS: November, trees and shrubs
• RHS: Grow your own, November
• RHS: Plants for winter interest