Care guides › Brisbane › November

November in the Brisbane garden

Late spring in Brisbane. Subtropical: no frost, a dry spring, then a wet summer. Here is what needs doing this month, with the essentials first.

What to plant 2
What to harvest 30
Feeding 4
Pruning and deadheading 23
Watering 13
Pests and diseases to watch for 17
Frost and weather 1
Tidying up 3

What to plant in November

Carrot

Sow seed direct every few weeks
Leek

Plant seedlings deep to blanch the stems

What to harvest in November

Tomato

Pick as fruit colours; it finishes ripening indoors
Lettuce

Pick outer leaves or whole heads
Carrot

Pull from about 12 weeks after sowing
Cucumber

Pick young and often
Capsicum

Pick green, or leave to colour fully
Zucchini

Pick at 15-20 cm, every few days
Runner Bean

Pick pods young and often
Broad Bean

Pick pods while the beans are bright green
Pea

Pick pods as they fill
Onion

Lift once the tops fall over and yellow
Garlic

Lift when half the leaves have yellowed
Potato

Dig once the tops die back
Sweetcorn

Pick when silks brown and kernels squirt milky juice
Eggplant

Pick while the skin is still glossy
Basil

Pick often; take the lot before winter
Strawberry

Pick fully red fruit every day or two
Artichoke

Cut buds while the scales are tight
Silverbeet

Pick outer leaves as needed
Warrigal Greens

Pick the soft tips often; blanch before eating
Lemon Myrtle

Pick leaves as you need them; they dry well
Sweet Pea If you have time

Pick flowers often: the more you pick, the more you get
Rosemary If you have time

Snip sprigs as needed; it keeps it bushy
Thyme If you have time

Snip sprigs as needed
Mint If you have time

Pick often to keep it leafy
Sage If you have time

Pick leaves as needed; best before it flowers
Chives If you have time

Snip leaves to 5 cm; the flowers are edible too
Parsley If you have time

Pick outer stems first
Dill If you have time

Pick fronds, then seed heads as they brown
Oregano If you have time

Pick sprigs; dry a bunch before it flowers
Lemon Verbena If you have time

Pick leaves for tea as needed

Feeding

Azalea

Azalea and camellia (acid) fertiliser after flowering
Summer vegetables If you have time

Liquid feed every 2 weeks while cropping
Annual flowers If you have time

Liquid feed every 2-3 weeks while flowering
Rock Orchid If you have time

Weak orchid feed every few weeks while growing

Pruning and deadheading

Jasmine and Black Coral Pea

Cut back hard after flowering to keep it in check
Waratah

Cut the flowers with long stems, or cut spent heads back hard
Geraldton Wax

Cut back by a third after flowering, or take long stems for vases
Rice Flower

Trim after flowering to keep it compact
Lilly Pilly

Clip in late spring and late summer
Mint Bush

Tip-prune after flowering
Wonga Vine

Cut back hard after flowering
Tomato If you have time

Pinch out side shoots and tie the stem to its stake
Bidens If you have time

Shear back by a third in midsummer to refresh it
Grevillea If you have time

Tip-prune after the main flush to keep it dense
Westringia If you have time

Trim after spring flowering; it takes clipping well
Grevillea Strawberry Smoothie If you have time

Tip-prune after the main flush to keep it compact
Azalea If you have time

Light trim straight after flowering
Ornamental Cherry If you have time

Only if needed, just after flowering
Emu Bush If you have time

Light prune after flowering
Marigold and Cosmos If you have time

Deadhead to keep flowers coming
Rose If you have time

Cut spent blooms back to a leaf to keep flowers coming
Geranium If you have time

Snap off spent flower heads
Basil If you have time

Pinch out flower spikes to keep leaves coming
Brachyscome If you have time

Shear off spent flowers for more
Hellebore If you have time

Cut spent flower stems unless you want seedlings
Clivia If you have time

Cut the spent flower stalk at the base
Paper Daisy If you have time

Snip spent flowers for more

Watering

Natives

Established plants: only in a heatwave or after 3 weeks without rain, then a deep soak
Shrubs and perennials

Deep soak weekly in dry spells
Azaleas, camellias and other acid-lovers

Shallow roots: deep soak weekly in dry spells
Citrus

Deep soak weekly, more while fruit is setting
Fruit

Deep soak weekly in dry spells, more as fruit swells
Summer vegetables

Deep water 2-3 times a week; uneven watering splits fruit
Herbs and annual flowers

Water when the top few cm are dry
Red Flowering Gum and Red Flowering Gum (Dwarf)

Young trees: deep soak weekly in summer for the first two years
Hydrangea

Thirsty: water deeply in heat, it wilts first
Japanese Maple

Keep moist and shelter from hot wind: the leaves scorch
Tree Fern

Water down the top of the trunk into the crown, daily in heat
Cool-season vegetables If you have time

Keep evenly moist; water when the top few cm are dry
Christmas Bells If you have time

Keep it moist while it flowers

Pests and diseases to watch for

Kale, Broccoli, Cauliflower and Cabbage If you have time

Cabbage white caterpillars: check under the leaves, squash eggs and grubs, or net the crop
Bottlebrush, Weeping Bottlebrush, Bottlebrush Slim and Melaleuca If you have time

Sawfly larvae can strip leaves: snip off the clusters
Grevillea, Grevillea Moonlight and Grevillea Strawberry Smoothie If you have time

Check stems for scale; wipe off or use horticultural oil
Pittosporum, Tea Tree and Bay Laurel If you have time

Scale and sooty mould: wipe scale off, or spray horticultural oil
Apple Tree and Pear Tree If you have time

Codling moth: set traps, and pick and bin fruit with entry holes
Rose If you have time

Black spot and aphids: bin spotted leaves; hose or squash aphids
Box Hedge If you have time

Box blight: cut out brown patches, bin them and clear fallen leaves
Kangaroo Paw If you have time

Snails: check new growth at dusk after rain; pick off, or scatter pet-safe iron pellets
Azalea If you have time

Petal blight: pick off brown, mushy flowers; spray lace bug under leaves with horticultural oil
Photinia If you have time

Leaf spot: pick off and bin spotted leaves, including fallen ones
Ornamental Cherry If you have time

Pear and cherry slug: hose off or dust with wood ash
Wattle If you have time

Borers: if you see sawdust, cut the branch back below the hole
Correa If you have time

Scale: wipe off or spray horticultural oil; keep air moving round it
Clivia If you have time

Lily borer: check for chewed leaves and pick off caterpillars
Waratah If you have time

Scale: wipe off or spray horticultural oil
Lilly Pilly If you have time

Psyllids pimple new leaves: cut off affected growth
Finger Lime If you have time

Citrus leafminer: cut off silvery curled new leaves

Frost and weather

Plum Tree, Blueberry Bush and Strawberry If you have time

Net against birds as the fruit ripens

Tidying up

Tulip and Daffodil If you have time

Let leaves die down before cutting: they feed next year's bulb
Dahlia If you have time

Stake stems as they grow
Iris If you have time

Cut spent flower stems to the base

Not listed: Cherry Tree, Blackcurrant Bush, Gooseberry Bush, Rhubarb, Blue Leschenaultia, Boronia and Common Heath, which don't suit Brisbane's climate.