Care guides › Melbourne › November
November in the Melbourne garden
Late spring in Melbourne. Cool temperate: frosty winters and warm, dry summers. Here is what needs doing this month, with the essentials first.
- What to plant 14
- What to harvest 22
- Feeding 4
- Pruning and deadheading 23
- Watering 3
- Mulching 1
- Pests and diseases to watch for 17
- Frost and weather 1
- Tidying up 5
What to plant in November
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Cucumber and Zucchini
Sow or plant once frost has passed
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Capsicum and Eggplant
Plant out once the soil is warm
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Sunflower and Cosmos
Sow seed direct after frost
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Tomato
Plant out once frost has passed (Melbourne Cup Day is the tradition)
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Carrot
Sow seed direct every few weeks
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Runner Bean
Sow at the base of a tall support
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Leek
Plant seedlings deep to blanch the stems
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Sweetcorn
Sow in blocks, not rows, so it pollinates
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Dahlia
Plant tubers once the soil warms
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Marigold
Plant seedlings after frost
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Basil
Plant once nights are warm
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Dill
Sow seed direct; it dislikes being moved
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Silverbeet
Sow or plant seedlings
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Warrigal Greens
Sow soaked seed or plant out in spring
What to harvest in November
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Lettuce
Pick outer leaves or whole heads
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Carrot
Pull from about 12 weeks after sowing
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Broad Bean
Pick pods while the beans are bright green
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Pea
Pick pods as they fill
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Onion
Lift once the tops fall over and yellow
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Garlic
Lift when half the leaves have yellowed
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Cherry Tree
Pick fully coloured, with the stalk on
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Strawberry
Pick fully red fruit every day or two
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Rhubarb
Pull (do not cut) the stalks; never eat the leaves
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Artichoke
Cut buds while the scales are tight
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Silverbeet
Pick outer leaves as needed
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Warrigal Greens
Pick the soft tips often; blanch before eating
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Lemon Myrtle
Pick leaves as you need them; they dry well
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Sweet Pea If you have time
Pick flowers often: the more you pick, the more you get
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Rosemary If you have time
Snip sprigs as needed; it keeps it bushy
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Thyme If you have time
Snip sprigs as needed
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Mint If you have time
Pick often to keep it leafy
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Sage If you have time
Pick leaves as needed; best before it flowers
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Chives If you have time
Snip leaves to 5 cm; the flowers are edible too
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Parsley If you have time
Pick outer stems first
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Oregano If you have time
Pick sprigs; dry a bunch before it flowers
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Lemon Verbena If you have time
Pick leaves for tea as needed
Feeding
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Summer vegetables
Dig in compost before planting
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Azalea
Azalea and camellia (acid) fertiliser after flowering
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Annual flowers If you have time
Liquid feed every 2-3 weeks while flowering
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Rock Orchid If you have time
Weak orchid feed every few weeks while growing
Pruning and deadheading
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Jasmine and Black Coral Pea
Cut back hard after flowering to keep it in check
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Waratah
Cut the flowers with long stems, or cut spent heads back hard
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Geraldton Wax
Cut back by a third after flowering, or take long stems for vases
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Boronia
Prune by a third after flowering to keep it bushy
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Rice Flower
Trim after flowering to keep it compact
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Common Heath
Tip-prune after flowering so it stays bushy
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Lilly Pilly
Clip in late spring and late summer
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Mint Bush
Tip-prune after flowering
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Wonga Vine
Cut back hard after flowering
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Tomato If you have time
Pinch out side shoots and tie the stem to its stake
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Grevillea If you have time
Tip-prune after the main flush to keep it dense
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Westringia If you have time
Trim after spring flowering; it takes clipping well
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Grevillea Strawberry Smoothie If you have time
Tip-prune after the main flush to keep it compact
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Azalea If you have time
Light trim straight after flowering
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Ornamental Cherry If you have time
Only if needed, just after flowering
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Blue Leschenaultia If you have time
Light trim after flowering
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Emu Bush If you have time
Light prune after flowering
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Rose If you have time
Cut spent blooms back to a leaf to keep flowers coming
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Geranium If you have time
Snap off spent flower heads
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Brachyscome If you have time
Shear off spent flowers for more
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Hellebore If you have time
Cut spent flower stems unless you want seedlings
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Clivia If you have time
Cut the spent flower stalk at the base
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Paper Daisy If you have time
Snip spent flowers for more
Watering
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Tree Fern
Water down the top of the trunk into the crown, daily in heat
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Cool-season vegetables If you have time
Keep evenly moist; water when the top few cm are dry
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Christmas Bells If you have time
Keep it moist while it flowers
Mulching
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Summer vegetables If you have time
Straw or sugarcane mulch once the soil has warmed
Pests and diseases to watch for
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Kale, Broccoli, Cauliflower and Cabbage If you have time
Cabbage white caterpillars: check under the leaves, squash eggs and grubs, or net the crop
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Bottlebrush, Weeping Bottlebrush, Bottlebrush Slim and Melaleuca If you have time
Sawfly larvae can strip leaves: snip off the clusters
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Grevillea, Grevillea Moonlight and Grevillea Strawberry Smoothie If you have time
Check stems for scale; wipe off or use horticultural oil
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Pittosporum, Tea Tree and Bay Laurel If you have time
Scale and sooty mould: wipe scale off, or spray horticultural oil
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Apple Tree and Pear Tree If you have time
Codling moth: set traps, and pick and bin fruit with entry holes
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Rose If you have time
Black spot and aphids: bin spotted leaves; hose or squash aphids
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Box Hedge If you have time
Box blight: cut out brown patches, bin them and clear fallen leaves
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Kangaroo Paw If you have time
Snails: check new growth at dusk after rain; pick off, or scatter pet-safe iron pellets
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Azalea If you have time
Petal blight: pick off brown, mushy flowers; spray lace bug under leaves with horticultural oil
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Photinia If you have time
Leaf spot: pick off and bin spotted leaves, including fallen ones
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Ornamental Cherry If you have time
Pear and cherry slug: hose off or dust with wood ash
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Wattle If you have time
Borers: if you see sawdust, cut the branch back below the hole
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Correa If you have time
Scale: wipe off or spray horticultural oil; keep air moving round it
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Clivia If you have time
Lily borer: check for chewed leaves and pick off caterpillars
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Waratah If you have time
Scale: wipe off or spray horticultural oil
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Lilly Pilly If you have time
Psyllids pimple new leaves: cut off affected growth
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Finger Lime If you have time
Citrus leafminer: cut off silvery curled new leaves
Frost and weather
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Cherry Tree, Plum Tree, Blueberry Bush and Strawberry If you have time
Net against birds as the fruit ripens
Tidying up
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Tulip and Daffodil If you have time
Let leaves die down before cutting: they feed next year's bulb
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Potato If you have time
Mound soil over the stems as they grow
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Sunflower If you have time
Stake tall stems before they flop
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Dahlia If you have time
Stake stems as they grow
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Iris If you have time
Cut spent flower stems to the base
Not listed: Lime Tree, Sturt's Desert Pea, Cooktown Orchid, Illawarra Flame Tree and Tuckeroo, which don't suit Melbourne's climate.