Just because it’s November, you don’t have to stop planting things in your garden. It’s a great time to plant shrubs and trees.

Here’s a note about what’s good about fall planting I got a few weeks ago from Anne Megaro, a great gardener who lives in New Rochelle and works for Groundwork Yonkers. Look for Anne’s seed-starting workshops at the Wildcliff Greenhouse in NR in the spring. She often teaches them with Barbara Fischer, the horticultural therapist at Children’s Village in Dobbs Ferry (and oops, I just realized I forgot to post a link to my article earlier this week on the holiday wreath/pointsettia sale there — will do today). Here’s Anne:

“We have been fall planting for years now with no ill effects. We’ve planted 25 flower carpet roses as late as early December when the top 1” of soil was frozen, and they came through unscathed (albeit in a non-windy site).

“At the time (2004) we checked with Jerry Giordano of Coop Ext. who confirmed that as long as you can get a shovel in the ground, you can continue planting. Our only hesitation would be with evergreens in windy sites which could unduly dessicate the needles while the plants establish themselves.

“Advantages: Nature rains a lot more in October-November than in May-June, saving untold gallons of water. Cooler temps encourage root growth over foliage growth. Plants are established better by next spring and ready to grow. Finally, you get lots of plants on sale since nurseries want to reduce what they must winter over.

“Many cities like Yonkers plant municipal trees only in late fall. The growers wait until the leaves have fallen and the trees are dormant before digging them for delivery. The survival rate has greatly improved with a lot less labor than watering all summer.”

From the Matterhorn Nursery Web site:

“• Until the ground freezes it is still good to plant trees and shrubs especially those that are deciduous for they will continue to produce roots until the ground freezes deeply. During mild winters when the frost level never gets deep they may produce roots most of the winter.”

And here’s info from Matterhorn on Nov. bulb planting:

“• There is still time to plant bulbs in the garden but this should be accomplished before the ground freezes deeply. Plant your tulip bulbs 8-10” deep. Plant 6-8 tulips per square foot for a good show next spring. Daffodils can be planted 2-3 times the diameter of the bulb. For example a bulb that is 3” in diameter should be planted 6-9” deep. Since Daffodils normally grow in clumps or groups it is recommended that you plant 6-8 bulbs in a 12 wide hole.When planting bulbs be sure to mix a good handful of superphosphate or bulb fertilizer into ALL of the soil which will help the bulbs to develop a good root system. Bone Meal will also aid in rooting but if you have a pet dog, cat, or wild critters such as skunks, or possums they will dig up your garden to find the “bones”.

“• You can plant your bulbs such as crocus, scilla, or tulips and cover them with a 3?4” chicken wire or wire fence material to keep animals from digging the bulbs up and eating them. Some people have great results by building a small box out of the chicken wire, burying the wire in the ground with the top open, planting the bulbs “IN THE BOX” before closing the top and covering the box with soil. Since daffodils and snowdrops are poisonous there is no need to go through this trouble.

For the full November Gardening Tips from Matterhorn, go here. There’s lots of good stuff on roses, composting, cleanup etc.

So go plant a tree this weekend!