November is a great month for planting cold-hardy plants and winter annuals… and for enjoying your garden! Here’s a look at what you can plant this month, how to cut back on watering, and more.
When I first moved to Tucson, new friends told me that November was their favorite month and I can see why! The weather is typically delightful, and a lot of gardening tasks (pruning, taking care of summer damage, frequent watering, fertilizing) are largely over. It’s time to relax and enjoy your garden.
November Weather Outlook
November finally starts to feel like fall! This month’s average highs and lows (in Tucson and Phoenix) are at least 10 degrees cooler than October’s. Additionally, the sun is less intense as the UV index continues to drop. And those nighttime lows are getting downright chilly!
Here’s a look at November weather averages in both Tucson and Phoenix.
November Weather Averages (Tucson)
| High temperature | 75°F |
| Low temperature | 48°F |
| Precipitation | .48″ |
| Relative humidity | 36% |
| UV Index | 4.4 |
| Wind | 13 mph |
November Weather Averages (Phoenix)
| High temperature | 77°F |
| Low temperature | 54°F |
| Precipitation | .54″ |
| Relative humidity | 33% |
| UV Index | 3.7 |
| Wind | 6 mph |
If you live elsewhere, enter your city or town in the search bar at TimeandDate.com to find your weather averages. You can find your monthly average UV index at UVIndex.io.
What To Do in the Garden in November
Gardening activities are winding down somewhat from October, which is the busiest fall month in desert gardens.
Here’s a snapshot of the activities you can do this month and those you should skip.
| ✅ | Plant cold-hardy plants |
| ✅ | Sow wildflower seeds |
| ✅ | Adjust watering schedules |
| ✅ | Take care of new plants |
| ❌ | Don’t plant frost-sensitive plants |
| ❌ | Don’t prune |
| ❌ | Don’t fertilize |
Read on for all the details and exceptions!
What to Plant in November
November is a great time to add plants to your garden that aren’t frost-sensitive.
- aloes
- cold-weather annuals
- cold-weather herbs and vegetables
- native and cold-hardy shrubs and trees
- spring flowering bulbs
While you can plant citrus trees this month, be prepared to cover them if there is a freeze since newly planted trees are more prone to frost damage.
It’s also time to:
- Sow spring wildflower seeds
- Move shrubs, perennials, ground covers, vines, and ornamental grasses
- Divide perennials
If possible, move or divide perennials on a cloudy day, which cuts down on evaporation loss. If that’s not possible, provide them with shade for a few days.
Planting Winter Annuals
Planting is many gardeners’ favorite part of gardening, and for some of us, planting in containers is our favorite kind of planting. It’s so easy (no hardpan, rocks, or caliche!) and you get instant gratification.
A visit to most nurseries this time of year will wow you with eye-popping spreads of colorful annuals including snapdragons, alyssum, lobelia, stock, petunias, and, of course pansies, the most cold-hardy winter annual of all.
According to Marylee Pangman, Tucson’s leading authority on potted plants and author of Getting Potted in the Desert, winter annuals should be planted once the nighttime lows are consistently in the mid-fifties. She’s found that waiting for cool nights will help ensure your annuals are robust and beautiful. If you didn’t plant your winter annuals in October, plant them this month.
Watering New Plants
Even though it’s cooler, you still need to water new plants more frequently than established ones. Water new perennials every two to three days for the first two weeks.
The University of Arizona recommends watering newly planted shrubs and trees according to this schedule.
| Weeks 1 & 2 | Every 3 – 4 days |
| Weeks 3 & 4 | Every 5 – 7 days |
| Weeks 5 & 6 | Every 7 – 10 days |
| Weeks 7 & 8 | Every 10 – 14 days |
Watering Established Plants
It’s time to harden off your established landscape plants for winter. This makes them less susceptible to cold damage. Continue to give your plants the same amount of water with each watering, but cut back on the frequency, using this chart as a guideline.
By the end of November, you can stop watering succulents such as hesperaloe, desert spoon, prickly pear, barrel cactus, and other cactus. Winter rains normally provide adequate water between fall and spring.
Succulents don’t like cold, wet feet. Too much water makes succulents more susceptible to winter freeze injury and can cause root rot.
Not sure how to adjust your watering schedule in November?
These articles can help:
7 Tips for Watering Landscape Cactus
How to Water Desert Trees: How Often? How Much?
How to Water Desert Shrubs: How Often? How Much?
What to Fertilize
Don’t fertilize your landscape plants in November. Feeding them now can encourage new frost-sensitive growth. However, you can continue to fertilize flowering annuals in containers.
What to Prune
Don’t prune cold-sensitive plants this month, since it encourages new growth. But you can prune any dead, diseased, or broken branches on shrubs or trees.
And you can deadhead flowers and snip back annuals to encourage bushiness and flowering.
Check Your Fruit Trees
If you’re growing tangelos, navel oranges, or limes, check them this month — they may be ripe. But for most citrus, you’ll have to wait a few months. Color is not the best way to determine if citrus is ripe. When ripe, fruits should have a pleasant citrusy smell and have some heft when you hold them.
Pomegranates may be ready to eat this month. A ripe pomegranate should have smooth skin, but be lumpy rather than perfectly round. It should feel weighty and make a metallic sound when you tap on it.
Stock Up on Frost Cloth Now
November always takes me by surprise. I feel like I’ve spent forever trying to help my plants survive the heat, and now suddenly I’m thinking about protecting them from frost!
The average first frost date in Tucson is December 3, but it can happen earlier. (The earliest freeze on record was October 16th.) According to the weather data on Garden.org, there’s a 20% chance that there will be a frost by the end of November.
You can find your first frost date by zip code here.
So don’t get caught short. Have what you need to protect your plants before the first freeze warning, or you may find that stores have run out.
You don’t have to use frost cloth. Many gardeners improvise with towels, sheets, or burlap but frost cloth has some advantages. It lets in air and light, can be left up for days, and if there’s rain, it dries fast and won’t weigh your plants down.
Fun Fall Gardening Events in November
While October is the big month for plant sales, there are still plenty of gardening classes and events in November. You’ll find an up-to-date list of gardening-related events in our Tucson Gardening Events Calendar.
Don’t live in Tucson? Look for online classes. You can participate in these no matter where you live.
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Author Bio
Deane Alban is the creator of Southwest Gardener. She is a science writer with a bachelor’s degree in botany from the University of South Florida. Gardening is her lifelong passion. She’s been gardening in Tucson for over 15 years.
