What to plant in November (UK)

By Sophie Sparkes · Updated September 2026 · 5 min read

November looks like the month the garden shuts down, but it's secretly one of the best planting months of the year. It's the classic month for tulips, the start of bare-root season, and your last chance to sneak in garlic and broad beans. Cold hands, big payoff.

Short answer: November is tulip month, the start of bare-root season for trees, roses and soft fruit, and your last comfortable chance to get garlic and broad beans in. It looks like the garden is shutting down; it is actually one of the better planting months.

🌷 Tulips: finally

If you've been sitting on bags of tulip bulbs since October, this is their moment. Tulips are traditionally planted in November on purpose: colder soil kills off the spores of tulip fire, the fungal disease that ruins them. Plant deep (a full 15-20cm, deeper than feels right), pointy end up, in sun and sharp drainage. Deep planting also makes them far more likely to come back year after year.

For the full rundown of which bulb goes in when (and why the answers differ), see our guide to when to plant spring bulbs.

🌳 Bare-root season begins

From November to March, trees, hedging, roses and soft fruit are sold "bare-root": dug up dormant, no pot, no compost. They're roughly half the price of container plants and usually establish better, because they were grown in open ground rather than a pot. November is the best month of the whole window: the soil is still relatively warm, so roots settle in before deep winter.

• Fruit: raspberry canes, currants, gooseberries, apple and pear trees, rhubarb crowns.
• Roses: bare-root roses planted now flower properly in their first summer.
• Hedging: hawthorn, beech and hornbeam whips cost pennies each bare-root.

The only rule: plant them within a day or two of arrival, and never let the roots dry out in between.

Veg still worth planting

• Garlic: still fine in November; it gets the winter chill it needs either way. In heavy, wet soil, start cloves in module trays and plant out in spring.
• Broad beans: 'Aquadulce Claudia' sown in early November overwinters happily in milder areas; in cold spots, sow in pots in a cold frame instead.
• Peas for shoots: a tray of peas on a windowsill gives you pea shoots for winter salads in three weeks.

One more job: plant next year's spring

Wallflowers, sweet williams and forget-me-nots can still go in during early November for a spring display, and any spring bulbs you find lurking in the shed are better in the ground late than never. Bulbs don't keep.

November planting questions

Is it too late to plant bulbs in November?

No, and for tulips November is the correct month rather than a late one. Daffodils and crocuses are better planted in September, but if they are still in the shed, plant them now anyway: bulbs do not keep, and late beats never. December works too as long as the ground is not frozen.

Why are tulips planted later than other bulbs?

Because colder soil kills off the spores of tulip fire, the fungal disease that disfigures the leaves and flowers. Tulips are not bothered by chilly ground and root perfectly well in it, so delaying costs you nothing and removes the main disease risk. It is a deliberate choice, not a compromise.

Can I still plant garlic in November in the UK?

Yes. Garlic needs a spell of cold to split into separate cloves, and a November planting still gets plenty of it. The one thing to watch is heavy, wet soil, where cloves sit and rot rather than root. In that case start them in module trays in a cold frame and plant them out in spring.

What can I plant in November for vegetables?

Garlic, hardy broad beans such as 'Aquadulce Claudia' in milder areas, and overwintering peas. A tray of peas on a windowsill gives you pea shoots for winter salads within about three weeks. In cold or exposed gardens, sow broad beans in pots in a cold frame rather than straight into the ground.

What is the best month for bare-root planting?

November, of the whole November to March window. The soil still holds enough summer warmth for roots to settle in before deep winter, so plants get established rather than simply sitting dormant. Trees, hedging, roses, raspberry canes, currants and rhubarb crowns all go in now.