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Post by ALLISA on May 5, 2006 12:50:15 GMT -5
Hi all....before I launch a full out search on the web...thought I'd ask others....has any one had luck ( and is it possible) to get periannials to grow and regrow in windowboxes ?
I have discovered tha I lOVE gardening...but don't know much about it.....right now what I love is perianialls....so much less work & expense. I bought window boxes and would like to get some trailing greens and perhaps flox to cascade down from them.....and regrow next year....any know anything ?
Robin....aren't you a fabulous gardener ? I rememver many moons ago seeing a GORGEOUS picture of a back yard that could have been in Better Homes and Garden....was either you or Ro....my memory is a little fuzzy....
Thnaks to anyone who can advise.....i'd like to get them done by next week !
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Post by Chester on May 5, 2006 14:24:31 GMT -5
What zone is Massachuetts in? I'm guessing a low number.
We just moved from WI, zone 4, and there was no way that we could over winter perennials in a window box, because they're not deep enough to protect the plant from freezing. You could dig them out of the window box at the end of the season and try planting them in the ground for the winter or overwintering them in the basement. Both of those ideas aren't guarenteed, just ideas.
I love perennials too, but my window boxes are the only areas that I plant annuals. There are a bunch of fun flowers out there!!
Good Luck!
Dawn
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Post by meghans_mom on May 5, 2006 21:01:05 GMT -5
yeah, you have to be what - zone 6 atleast?
i'd say most perennials will not winter over in window boxes or planters. In planters certain things may regrow the next year - bulbs or corms like lilies but i doubt phlox, or anything like that. and again, you'd have to move those pots in the garage/basement or at the very least cover them well.
If you do a trailing green (vinca vine for example) this can easily be separated and one plant will fill in alot of spots - just cut it up and stick it in the dirt to root (ask your garden center for recommendations on best ones for this type of planting)...but the vincas won't winter in a pot - but you can take cuttings and keep them indoors -- same with philodendron (which most people think of only as an indoor plant, and you won't find outside in garden centers but in the hot house) - and it will live in plain water all winter, if you can't keep pots of plants around.
there are LOTS of great bulb/tuber/corm perennials out there, and you'd have to dig them out at the end of the season and store them properly (depending on the type) but they would/should give you years of pleasure...and you can plant them earlier (unless they're tender/tropical bulbs) than regular annuals or perennials. You can even buy them as grown plants this year and dig them up and store them for next year instead of starting NOW as a bulb. Thinks like begonias, canna, calla lily.
annuals are usually pretty cheap and they grow faster than perennials -- so i fill in early with them -- they give instant gratification :-) you can usually get cold weather things lke pansies really cheap at walmart/kmart/home depot.
check when your actual planting time is -- we're zone 7B here, and don't ever really plant before mother's day because we do get some near-frost nights, and i'd imagine you'd be a bit colder? tender perennials can be killed in a night with even a mild frost.
also - think about growing HERBS! they look BEAUTIFUL in pots & planters, you can use them..they flower, smell nice...and you can take cuttings inside to winter over or bring the whole pot right inside. I've seen gorgeous planters done just w/ herbs -- because there are so many different types you can do some great things with them. Woody herbs are OK to plant now but don't do basil/parsley/etc until after mom's day.
happy planting (can you tell I *love* it?!)
laurie
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Post by chasesmom on May 14, 2006 3:01:23 GMT -5
Allisa...I just saw your post, sorry it took so long. Yes it is my gardens you saw ;D so much hard work but I love it. My passion is also perrenials, cause they just keep coming back year after year without the cost of annuals. BUT....they wont come back in a window box darling girl. the reason is that in window boxes the roots will freeze solid and die as they wont have the ground to protect them. So if you are going to do window boxes, you must either move to Hawaii where it is always perfectly warm so they wont die   or plant annuals which will do quite beautifully but need to be replanted each year. And remember your best friend is miracle grow plant fertilizer...use it every week, LOL, no I get no commission for saying that, it has just been trial and error and it works best in my gardens. And Al.............. I expect to see pictures    hugs, and happy planting!!!! Robin |
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Post by ALLISA on May 15, 2006 9:08:04 GMT -5
Thanks guys for all the advice !! I am excited to get started....well.....have been started for awhile....I planted a lot of periannials LAST year, so it is exciting to see them poking up now....I;ll just hound you one more time regarding window boxes, then I'll "let the dream die"....
What If I bring them inside and store them in my cellar ? Could they survive then ? DO they need the cold to go dormant and therefore wouldn't survive ?
I got the crazy notion that I wanted to plant window boxes with long trailing greens and just put in planters of flowers...pansy in spring.....begonias or SOMTHIGN in summer....but to have the greens keep coming year aft er year.....is it truly inpossible ? ANd no, I don;t want to take out of window box, transplant to ground and replant in boxes ....my goal is minumal work ....though Like I said, I wouldn';t mind bringin whole box into house...easily detatches from house.....thanks !!
And any more thoughts on pretty flowers for shade....I don't have a ton of sun.
Laurie....I did plant a few herbs on my back porch in contaitners....so I am looking forward to them.....thanks !!
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Post by Chris on May 15, 2006 14:05:32 GMT -5
For shade, I love, love, love impatiens!!! I plant them across the back of my house each year and they are beautiful. They bloom through October. I got money for Mother's day to go buy flowers for my flowerbeds. Now if it would just stop raining! We're not suppose to plant until May 20 anyway. I am getting anxious.
Chris
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Post by momofrussell on May 16, 2006 17:44:30 GMT -5
Well, I am a novice planter but do pretty good with what I got so far. We are in St. Louis MO and I don't know what zone we are in.. I look on the back of the packages to find out LOL. I do know that bulbs (some or all) need the cold each year.. like tulips I do believe.. or they don't grow well. And unless it's an indoor plant, I don't know if you can bring things in into a cellar and them survive.. but I don't know much about stuff like that. Speaking of planting... since we moved to MO I have nurtured hostas back to life that someone had planted in our backyard. This has been my thrill each year since we replanted them in front. They are a shade loving plant and were in the shade in the back.. but it wasn't doing well. It was a small plant and dying.  I decided to replant in the front yard, and have even had them multiply and I divided them last year. I went from 1 plant, to 3 last year, and now this year I have 7. I could have split them again but decided not to since we are moving. I also planted a Gerber Daisy by a accent rock last year.. and didn't realise it was going to grow again this year LOL.. I didn't read the tag well I guess and figured it was an annual. So I am SOOOOO EXCITED it is growing!!!! I also have Lavender I planted that enjoy growing, they are on the hearty side, so I can't go too wrong with them. And I have a Rosemary plant that I think I have moved a few times.. again, it's hearty so it does well. I use Rosemary to cook and enjoy the fresh stuff. We also have two Azaleas that were here when we moved in. And then we have one of those Japanese red leaf bushes (I can't think of the name off hand) which was here when we moved in and whomever planted it did NOT read the tag. It loves the sun and where they planted it, it's getting shaded by two trees.. and it's leaning.. to find sun.. so sad.. but it's getting to big and we have no other place to plant it... My poor baby... The previous owners actually didn't think of where to plant alot of things so we have moved things around a few times. Anyway.... sorry to ramble and take over your post.. but I too am loving the planting stuff and have loved watching all that has grown the past few years here. So I know you will enjoy it too! One idea you could do, that we did with planters and big pots, was we planted veggies and fruits, ect... tomatos, peppers, ect...we put them all around the porch and the kids and I enjoy watching them harvest and pick them. Erin might enjoy that!!! And I let the girls plant seeds in pots and we watch them grow too! One year we planted pumpkins.. Reece and I did and THAT Was a blast to watch!!!! When we move we will start up again. I am not going to be able to do my potted plants right now.. just tending to the ones that are in the ground. I also love to plant and watch Begonias.. but in CA I could have them all year round.. and here in MO I am not that lucky I have to replant them, they get frosted out... but they were great in CA! So.. have fun.. get creative... let your kids help and you all will have alot of fun like us!!! A. |
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Post by meghans_mom on May 17, 2006 21:01:04 GMT -5
Allisa -- ivy *may* come back each year in planters...sweet jennifer (or something jennifer) may also come back every year in a planter...i have it in some pots out back and it came back again this year. It's trailing, grows like wildfire and makes little yellow flowers. maybe look at certain types of sedum, and lastly vinca vine -- the solid green one NOT the varigated variety that is an annual -- not sure about the vinca lasting...you can try covering the boxes or covering them w/ straw or woodchips.
I don't think the trailing green stuff would go dormant in the basement and then just come back in the spring. you'd be better off bringing the boxes in and keeping them alive over winter. or, and i apologize if i said this in my above post -- take cuttings of your trailing greens in the fall, root them over the winter and then replant in the spring.
if you want to try look for a plant that is hearty to a colder zone -- say 5 or 4.
we just planted some veggies...first year to do it without mom which was sad, but that's how i remembered her this mothers day...i hope i did ok without her...the kids had fun picking stuff out. can't wait to show them the first cukes or tomatoes.
laurie
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or plant annuals which will do quite beautifully but need to be replanted each year. And remember your best friend is miracle grow plant fertilizer...use it every week, LOL, no I get no commission for saying that, it has just been trial and error and it works best in my gardens. And Al.............. I expect to see pictures 
I decided to replant in the front yard, and have even had them multiply and I divided them last year. I went from 1 plant, to 3 last year, and now this year I have 7. I could have split them again but decided not to since we are moving.