Care guides › Perth › November
November in the Perth garden
Late spring in Perth. Mediterranean: wet winters, long hot dry summers and sandy soil. Here is what needs doing this month, with the essentials first.
- What to plant 7
- What to harvest 29
- Feeding 3
- Pruning and deadheading 23
- Watering 1
- Pests and diseases to watch for 16
- Frost and weather 1
- Tidying up 3
What to plant in November
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Cucumber and Zucchini
Sow or plant once the soil is warm
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Sunflower and Cosmos
Sow seed direct once the soil is warm
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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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Marigold
Plant seedlings once the soil is warm
What to harvest in November
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Tomato
Pick as fruit colours; it finishes ripening indoors
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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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Cucumber
Pick young and often
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Zucchini
Pick at 15-20 cm, every few days
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Runner Bean
Pick pods young and often
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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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Potato
Dig once the tops die back
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Cherry Tree
Pick fully coloured, with the stalk on
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Basil
Pick often; take the lot before winter
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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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Dill If you have time
Pick fronds, then seed heads as they brown
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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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Azalea
Azalea and camellia (acid) fertiliser after flowering
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Summer vegetables If you have time
Liquid feed every 2 weeks while cropping
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Annual flowers If you have time
Liquid feed every 2-3 weeks while flowering
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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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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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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Marigold and Cosmos If you have time
Deadhead to keep flowers coming
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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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Basil If you have time
Pinch out flower spikes to keep leaves coming
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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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Cool-season vegetables If you have time
Keep evenly moist; water when the top few cm are dry
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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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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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: Waratah, Flannel Flower, Rock Orchid, Common Heath, Cooktown Orchid, Christmas Bells, NSW Christmas Bush, Illawarra Flame Tree, Blueberry Ash, Tree Fern and Native Violet, which don't suit Perth's climate.