November Desert Gardening Chores

There’s always something to do in your desert garden

No matter if your garden is high plains (above 4,000 ft.) or low desert; there are some chores you need to do for November.

Cut back on watering, but don’t stop entirely. Water them deeply every week.
You can now plant trees and shrubs.
You can prune back any dead or unwanted branches.
For citrus, prune any unwanted growth, including sprouts.
Also, make sure that there is space below your citrus plants for air to circulate. Prune about two feet from the ground.

Don’t worry about citrus. High desert winter cold will kill them.
You can probably get some good desert trees fairly cheap now from nurseries. If you have a place to simply heel those in (covering the root balls with compost or good humus) then do so. Decide where you want to place your trees now, and dig the holes now before the ground freezes.
If you do have fruit trees, they are probably dormant now, and you might want to get dormant oil and spray them down. Wait until a little later (January) to prune them.
You can cut back on watering now too. Water deeply about once per month.

Water Bermuda grass about two to three inches per week.
If you’ve planted winter ryegrass, then you should mow it now. (One and a half to two inches long will be perfect). Keep watering until it is well established.
If your lawn starts to yellow, apply some ammonium nitrate to restore the green color.

Now is a perfect time to collect seeds from indigenous high-desert grasses. You can also plant them now.
Resist the temptation to cut back all the grasses, because they will feed birds and other animals during the cold winter.
If you do have a lawn, and precipitation is low, you may want to water once a month.

You can plant dianthus, snapdragons and calendulas now. Plant these in full sun.
In partially-shaded areas, you can also plant dianthus, primrose and impatiens.
Bulbs of crocus and daffodils can be planted now as well. Make sure the soil is well drained, and there is enough soil (not caliche) beneath them to root.
You can also plant glads, anemones, amaryllis, and iris now.
Prune spent roses.

It’s not too late to plant daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and crocus, but get them in the ground now.
You can also still plant wildflower seeds. Make sure they’re in well-drained soil, and covered, because the birds will certainly seek them out.