Skip to main content
Home

Service menu

  • Search
  • Where to buy
  • Contact
  • Sustainability
Home lovethegarden

Main navigation

  • Products
    Lawn Care
    Plant Food
    Soil, Potting Mix and Mulch
    Plant Protection
    Wild Bird & Pet
    Garden Accessories
  • Brands
    Scotts Osmocote
    Scotts Lawn Builder
    Scotts New Zealand
    Debco SaturAid
  • Tools
    Your Monthly Planting Guide
    Find expert advice on what to plant and when.
    Learn more
    All Growing Guides
    Discover how to grow any plant.
    Learn more
    Potting Mix Calculator
    Calculate how much potting mix your garden needs.
    Calculate now
    Mulch Calculator
    Calculate how much mulch your garden needs.
    Calculate now
    Videos
    Discover all of our helpful video content.
    Watch now
  • Advice & Inspiration
    Grow your own
    Lawn care
    Plants, trees and shrubs
    Fruit and citrus
    Weeds, pests and diseases
    Garden care
    Garden design
    Birds and wildlife
    Plant feeding
    Sustainability
  • Search
  • Where to buy
  • Contact
  • Sustainability
  1. Home
  2. Tools
  3. Garden calendar
  4. November

Explore things to do in your garden every month

Gardening in November

It’s almost summer…

The spring garden is at its absolute best now, with trees, shrubs, perennials and seasonal annuals all flowering, fruit trees and vegetables showing the promise of crops to come and the lawn lush and green. Enjoy the rewards of your gardening efforts during this time - and check out our November planting guide for helpful tips to keep your garden vibrant and full of new growth into summer.

Blossoming purple flowers

 

There’s still work to be done to prepare your garden for the long and most likely hot summer ahead. Feeding and watering are paramount this month. So too is repotting of indoor plants, orchids and other plants in larger pots and tubs. In cooler mountain and hills areas, rhododendrons and azaleas are at their very best.

What to plant now:

With the weather warming up it's the perfect time to plant those heat loving crops including capsicums and chillies! 

  • Seasonal flowers:

Summer flowering annuals can still be planted now. 

  • Spring & summer vegetables: 

Keep planting all the leafy salad favourites, especially the “pick and come again” lettuces, as well as courgettes, chillies, capsicums, tomatoes and sweetcorn.  

The Vegetable Patch:

Harvest now:

Harvest asparagus, bok choi, beetroot, basil, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, courgettes, coriander, cucumber, kale, lettuce, leeks, mesclun, parsley, onions, peas, parsnip, rocket, radish, spinach, onion, spring onions and tomatoes.

What to plant now:

It's all about planting for summer veggies this month. Staggered plantings over four to six weeks will ensure you have continuity of supply in mid-Summer. Plant into well prepared and fertilised soil. Add a long-term or slow release fertiliser and mix through the soil then moisten well a few days before planting.

If space is at a premium, choose dwarf or bush varieties rather than the traditional large types that need lots of space and support. 

Sow or plant:
  • Asparagus
  • Basil
  • Beetroot
  • Beans
  • Broccoli
  • Cabbage
  • Capsicum
  • Carrot
  • Celery
  • Chilli
  • Coriander
  • Courgette
  • Cucumber
  • Eggplant
  • Kumara
  • Leek
  • Lettuce
  • Mesclun
  • Parsley
  • Parsnip
  • Potatoes
  • Pumpkin and squash
  • Radish
  • Rocket
  • Silverbeet
  • Spinach
  • Spring onions
  • Sweetcorn
  • Tomatoes.

Vegetables growing in a paper pot

 
Veggie patch tips for November:
  • Water in newly planted seedlings with a liquid fertiliser for vegetables and herbs or a certified organic fertiliser to give them a good start.
  • Hammer in stakes for tomatoes and put in supporting tripods, trellises or string lines for climbing crops like peas and beans.
  • Hand pull or hoe out weeds as they appear – they compete for nutrients and moisture and may also harbour pests that could attack your crops. 

Fruit & Flower Beds:

Fruits to harvest now:

The last of your citrus crops will be ready for harvesting and strawberries and other berries should be fruiting now too. 

One watermelon growing on a vine in the garden

 
What fruit to plant:
  • Raspberry
  • Strawberry
  • Blueberry
  • Blackberry
  • Boysenberry
  • Feijoa
  • Lemon
  • Orange
  • Mandarin
  • Lime
  • Passionfruit
  • Grapes
  • Kiwifruit
  • Tamarillo

 

Flowers you can plant in November

Continue planting gladiolus corms every few weeks throughout November. Dahlia tubers should also be planted this month – divide clumps and plant tubers singly, making sure each has a growth eye. Hammer in stakes about 450-600mm apart and plant one tuber at the base of each to provide support as the plants grow. Green cuttings taken a couple of months ago should have good root systems by now and can be planted out.

Vegetable seeds sitting on top of the ground

 
Sow or plant:
  • Alyssum
  • Gazania
  • Lobelia
  • Fuchsia
  • Foxgloves
  • Ageratum
  • Aster
  • Chrysanthemum
  • Poppy
  • Carnation
  • Cosmos
  • Dahlia
  • Dianthus
  • Lisianthus
  • Everlasting daisy
  • Gazania
  • Geranium
  • Gerbera
  • Godetia
  • Gypsophila
  • Honesty
  • Impatiens 
  • Marigold
  • Petunia
  • Nasturtium
  • Phlox
  • Gueen Annes Lace
  • Salvia
  • Snapdragon
  • Statice
  • Sunflower
  • Sweet pea
  • Verbena
  • Wallflower
Garden jobs for the month:
  • Keep flowering annuals, vegetables and herbs growing well with regular applications of an all purpose fertiliser.
  • Evergreen shrubs can be lightly trimmed to keep them neat, particularly those being trained as topiary, mop-tops or other geometric shapes. Regular clipping through the growing season will maintain their forms.
  • It's time to repot orchids that have just finished flowering. Only those that have outgrown their existing pots or are not growing well should be removed from their old pots. Shake off the old potting mix or bark, trim any obviously dead or diseased roots and pot up, using fresh bark or mix, into a pot that comfortably holds the root ball.
  • Continue fungicide sprays on fruit trees to combat fungal diseases like brown rot.
  • Spring bulbs will be dying now – mark their locations with small stakes so you know where to find them when it comes time to dig them out.

Fruit hanging from the tree

 

Indoor Plants:

  • It’s time to repot indoor plants that have outgrown their pots or are simply in need of some TLC. Use Osmocote Indoor Plant Mix. 
  • Keep the air around indoor plants humid by regularly misting plants with a water atomiser.
  • Wipe leaves occasionally with a damp cloth to keep them clean.
  • Feed fortnightly with ready to use Osmocote Pour+Feed Indoor Plants – no mixing required. There are also Pour+Feed products for orchids and cacti.

Woman planting an indoor plant in white pot

 

Lawns:

Regular mowing will keep existing lawns looking neat. Raise the cutting height to leave the grass a little longer and protect the crowns and runners of grasses from the increasing heat of the sun. A longer, thicker sward also helps keep the soil, and roots, cooler. Leaving the clippings on the lawn will also help, although it may look a little messy.

During dry spells, water the lawn well at least once a week (if permitted by local water authorities). Light sprinkles on the grass every day or so not only waste water but encourage the roots to the surface. 

Person mowing the lawn

 

Pest Control:

Fungal disease on a rose bush

 

  • Slugs and snails can be active whenever there are young plants around Garden Galore Quash Slug & Snail Stoppa in a bait trap will protect your plants and keep your pets safe.
  • Watch for aphids and other sap-sucking pests on young plants and the soft shoots of other trees and shrubs. 
  • Roses and other shrubs are susceptible to a range of fungal diseases like black spot and powdery mildew. Use copper-based fungicide to control them.

FAQs

What are the best seeds to plant in November? 

In November, sow summer vegetables like corn, pumpkins, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Fast-growing greens like rocket and spinach can also be planted for continuous harvests. 

Which herbs should I plant in November? 

November is ideal for planting basil, oregano, thyme, and sage. Coriander and dill also grow well but may bolt in hot weather, so provide shade to your plants where needed. 

Things to do in:
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Footer

  • Our purpose
  • Contact
  • Brands
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy and cookies
  • Update cookie preferences

© 2025 Evergreen Garden New Zealand

Evergreen Garden Care New Zealand LTD,
Mount Maunganui
New Zealand

Scotts®, Osmocote™ & Lawn Builder™ are trademarks of OMS Investments, Inc. and are used under licence from OMS Investments, Inc.

Flag of New Zealand Change country
A local version of The Love The Garden website exists

Switch over if you want to find gardening products and brands available in your country.

Combined ShapeCombined Shapeicon--plusGroup