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Need ideas for window boxes.....

Gardening Reference » Gardening in 2006
by StillNoGreenThumb on July 15, 2006 09:50 AM
Hello! New here and need some advice. I have four window boxes on the front of my house and have yet to fill them with flowers this season. It is the side of the house that gets the most direct sun and it is not always an option for me to water the flowers every day or even every other day. I had bad luck with Geraniums and had ok luck with another type (I forget what they are now) but they were supposed to be a tropical flower that loves sun and needs little water. They worked ok but I think it's too late now to put them in.

I usually pull out my summer flowers and plant mums in the boxes in the fall...I guess my question is when can I plant the mums (earliest) since I have nothing there now? What other types of flowers will stay flowering through the fall if I planted them within the next week or so?

TIA for any advice...I'm in Massachusetts so you can have an idea of climate....
by Deborah L. on July 15, 2006 10:24 AM
Marigolds?

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by RugbyHukr on July 15, 2006 01:33 PM
my advise for those who cannot water containers every day in the summer & in the sun...

1. get a drip irrigation system
2. OR try mixing hydro-gels, gypsum, or something that holds water into your soil

plants that like full sun & look good together in planters: petunias, sweet potato vine, sweet alyssum

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I love the sweet scents wafting in the breeze. I stop to admire the vibrant colors of all living things. And people think me odd. Then ODD I am!!!

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by tkhooper on July 16, 2006 01:41 AM
Mums should be in the stores anytime now. I also love the miniature roses. Portulaca would be another good choice for the summer but the first frost and they are gonners.

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by Triss on July 16, 2006 11:47 AM
I was thinking petunias also. My are still thriving! You can get a lot of variety in color with them as well.

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.
by StillNoGreenThumb on July 17, 2006 03:14 AM
THANKS! It was petunias in there last year and they did well! In fact, one of the boxes started to bloom again this season after I thought I had pulled them all last year? I don't know how it is possible?

I'm wondering if I should just wait til the mums come out since it's already so late....next year I'll get on the stick earlier!
by loz on July 17, 2006 04:12 AM
quote:
Originally posted by tkhooper:
Mums should be in the stores anytime now. I also love the miniature roses. Portulaca would be another good choice for the summer but the first frost and they are gonners.
I totally agree.........Portulacas take the heat and are drought tolerant so if you don't get to water each day it's no big deal.

Plus you can cut a piece of one of them off and stick it in the dirt and keep it water and it will root itself.....

We always had Petunias in the big metal boxes out front, they reseeded themselves but when it got really hot they wilted pretty bad. And that was direct sun. This year I pulled them all out and planted them through the garden and put portulacas in them and the colors are just fantastic!

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by gardenfairy on July 18, 2006 03:29 PM
Petunia's will reseed themselves and come back everyear. Mum's would do well throughout the fall and you can root the cuttings off of them and put them somewhere else in your garden!!

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Monica

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away."
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God gave us memories so we can have roses in the winter.

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