Why now is the best time to work on your indoor plants
Houseplants
Central heating can cause fluctuating temperatures which houseplants hate, often resulting in leaf drop. If your plants were near radiators during the summer, move them away for the winter. Provide as much light as you can and remember that the biggest killer of houseplants is overwatering. Growth rates are very low during the winter so plants don’t require much water – often just enough to keep them alive. It is easy to revive a plant if it’s too dry but almost impossible to resurrect a waterlogged one. To check, push your finger into the compost and if you sense moisture, don’t water.
Rhubarb
November is the perfect time for planting and dividing rhubarb. Lift the crown with a spade, making sure to give it a root ball of reasonable size. Divide by cutting through the crown then replant pieces the size of a dinner plate with a few buds and a good number of roots. Rhubarb loves fertile soil, so dig in lots of well-rotted manure and mulch well. ‘Fulton’s Strawberry Surprise’ is one of the best tasting varieties; try ‘Valentine’ too (from thompson-morgan.co.uk and crocus.co.uk).
Whitefly away
Lush cuttings that were taken in late summer have put on lots of growth in our greenhouses, which is positive and an indication of healthy root systems going into the winter. Whiteflies adore all that soft growth in a warmer environment and before you know it, they’re abundant and flying everywhere. Use SB Plant Invigorator once a week and spray any cuttings until the diluted solution runs off the foliage, paying attention to the underside of the leaves too. Once the whitefly levels are under control, you can reduce the frequency of the spray, particularly as colder weather sets in. I couple this approach with yellow sticky traps which I suspend above my cuttings. These also trap the whitefly and act as a monitoring system to see how many I’m dealing with.
Winter interest
Colour and scent are harder to find in the winter garden but we appreciate them more. Look out for a new generation of hellebores – Helleborus × ballardiae ‘Snow Dance’ has bigger, more upward-facing flowers and mottled foliage. Also, witch hazels make wonderful small trees; the butter-yellow autumn foliage is followed by scented flowers. Best suited to slightly acidic soil and a bit of shelter, Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Pallida’ and ‘Orange Peel’ are superb examples (larchcottage.co.uk and crocus.co.uk).
Two projects to plan
Order seeds for spring
Although the majority of our annuals are sown in the spring, I always order and store my seeds now to ensure that I get my hands on my favourites. Growing cut flowers for drying and home-grown vegetables are trends which I think will continue to gather momentum as we head towards our next growing season. Chilterns Seeds and Plants of Distinction online are my go-to suppliers for such things, well worth a look if you’ve not come across them before.
I store my seeds in a small metal box, which is rodent-proof, and keep that box in a cool bedroom, away from the sunlight. Cool, dark conditions are optimum for storing your seeds until you’re ready to sow in the warmer weather.
Check pumps and filters
Lots of people are surprised when I say that the autumn and winter can be some of the busiest times in the garden. Admittedly, a good quantity of tea and biscuits are consumed, but in winter we can prepare and get on the front foot before the garden bursts into life in spring. Take this opportunity to check your pond pumps and filters, making sure that pumps are working properly and clean any filters to ensure good water quality, particularly if you have fish. Also check fences for rot, watch your gutters and keep an eye open for leaks on your shed roof – the longer these jobs are left, the bigger the task becomes.
Tom Brown is head gardener at West Dean Gardens, West Sussex
