November gardening guide: fruit tree pruning

November can often feel a bit of a ‘meh’ sort of month in the garden. Messy leaves, dank corners, wind and rain down the back of your neck…..ugh!

But if you force yourself out there, there’s real pleasure and satisfaction to be had, getting on with tasks such as winter-pruning fruit trees, making leaf-mould, forcing some beautiful bulbs for the new year and planting or dividing rhubarb…

Winter tree-pruning

After leaf-fall is a fantastic time to prune apple, quince, medlar or pear trees. If you want a great harvest in the summer, apple trees in particular do best if you prune them twice a year.

The early winter prune is done to thin out overcrowded or crossing branches, taking out damaged or diseased ones, and generally smartening up your tree.  You just have to be aware that pruning done in the tree’s dormant season can result in very exuberant growth from the spots where you made your cuts. 

The pruning done in midsummer is done to limit the size of the tree and to promote more fruit production.

Have a good look at the outline of your tree now – does it have any dead or damaged stems? Those must go, and you need to cut right back into healthy (green inside) wood. Do remove any mummified fruits still hanging on the tree which can definitely harbour and spread disease. If you find a whole stem of such fruit, take out the entire thing.

Next take out branches that are crossing over and rubbing each other.  Then the ones that are growing right through the centre of the tree – you are going to need light and air in there to ripen next year’s crop.

Two more things to do: shorten any strong vertical growth or take it out completely – these branches are not going to carry half as much fruit as the horizontal spreading ones.  Lastly, older trees can become crowded with all sorts of knobbly little shoots called ‘spurs’.  Take some of these off if you can, leaving the rest better-spaced, and you’ll have larger, better-formed fruits next year.  

A well-pruned fruit tree will withstand any wild winter weather much more happily.  Stand back and admire your handiwork, before retreating indoors for a warming cuppa.

One little caveat – don’t touch plum, damson or cherry trees now – leave them to be pruned in summer or you run the risk of letting silver leaf disease enter the cut surfaces and infecting the tree.

Forced bulbs

It’s too late to plant forced bulbs in bowls and pots with any real hope of having them in flower for Christmas but in my opinion, there’s an awful lot of festive house decoration going on at around at that time of year anyway.  It’s January and February when you need a deeply cheering blast of colour (and scent) to help you through those dreary months. 

‘Forced’ bulbs have been specially treated to flower early, and there are lots available to buy now. Hyacinths, Narcissus or Hippeastrum are all great choices, and the packs often come with instructions which differ slightly from plant to plant. For many of them, the idea is to plant them in bulb fibre, water the pot or bowl, and keep it in a cool, dark place for 8-10 weeks to develop a strong root system.   

Check the pots from time to time and water again if the compost feels dry but not right over the bulbs. Once shoots of 2” (4-5 cm) have appeared, bring the bowl into the light (not too hot a spot though, keep it coolish, or you’ll get distorted blooms) and watch the bulbs start to form their flower buds, bringing a smile to your face on dark winter days. 

Hipppeastrum are slightly different, and Caroline assures me that you can still plant them now and get flowers at Christmas. Plant these big bulbs in multipurpose compost with two-thirds of the bulb above the surface, and keep the watered pot in a well-lit warm spot. You can move it to a cooler place once it starts blooming to prolong the life of the amazing flowers.

Leaf-mould

I really hope that you’ve started making leaf-mound from all that decaying foliage that’s raining down. Even in the smallest garden it’s worth doing this. Punch some holes in a black bin-liner, fill it up with damp fallen leaves (foliage from evergreens takes longer to break down than that from deciduous trees) and tie up the top.  How about getting the children, or grandchildren, to help? Leave the bag or bags in any tucked-away corner for 6-12 months.  

Your reward for doing this simple task will be the most wonderful material for opening up heavy soils, unbelievably doing two contrasting things: helping it to retain moisture AND to drain excess water better! It makes a perfect mulch over the borders to keep weeds down, and you can even sieve it to mix with loam and grit to make your own seed-compost.  And all this bounty was completely free!

Gardening shorts

• Rhubarb is a spring delight in our household, used in crumbles, pies and compotes.  Sooooo delicious with custard or cream! November is a good time to plant or divide rhubarb crowns.  They are quite greedy feeders and appreciate some well-rotted manure around their roots.  If you’re starting a new bed for them, choose a sunny position. Make sure the growing tips of the crowns are above the soil surface once they are firmed in.  You might have to be patient with new plants – it’s better to leave them unharvested for at least their first year so their root system can really settle in and get strong.

• Plant lily bulbs in pots as soon as you get them – don’t let them dry out.  Putting some grit at the bottom of the pot will help drainage, and I always leave the pots outside over the winter – lilies generally flower better after a period of cold. Plant them at a depth 2-3 times the height of the individual bulb. 

• Cover outside taps and water pipes with bubble-wrap to protect them from freezing in very cold weather and being damaged.

• If you have 5-10 minutes to spare, clean and sharpen your favourite secateurs.  Rub them with wire wool to remove any rust and sharpen the blades with a whetstone or sharpening tool. (We have a great little tool for this in our shop – do take a look). They will thank you by cutting precisely and efficiently for months to come.

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This species of plant may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this lovely Chrysanthemum is a hardy gem that will brighten up your November no end, according to Louise………

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Yikes, these weren’t available last year but YIPPEE, our most popular candle – Figgy Pudding – is back on the menu again! In fact we have a great range of lovely candles this year so embrace the cosiness of winter and pick your favourites here

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