Flowerbox Plants
- Many excellent plants for flower boxes thrive in conditions where they receive six or more hours of sun per day. Geraniums bloom throughout the summer and provide flowers in colors of white, pink and red. French marigolds bloom from late spring until the first frost and bear gold, yellow or red blossoms. Petunias make an excellent addition to sunny window boxes. They bear flowers in virtually every color all summer long. Verbena flourishes in hot conditions and produces red, pink, purple or white blooms.
- For a flower box set up in shady or partially shady conditions, pansies provide terrific visual interest since the blooms range across the color spectrum. Plant them in the fall and watch them blossom throughout the winter. Flowering peaks in the spring, but you can keep your window box full of color by planting impatiens. These plants blossom through the spring and fall and come in every color except blue, according to the Clemson Cooperative Extension.
- You might want some attractive foliage in your window box to complement the colorful flowers. For sunny conditions, ornamental kale presents foliage in red, purple, green and white or pink throughout winter. Plant it in autumn. Variegated periwinkle provides lime-colored leaves with white margins. For shady conditions, try the polka dot plant, which has pink or white flecked green leaves. Another plant that does well in shade, the purple shamrock, gets its name from its showy purple leaves.
- Give your flowers a good potting medium to help them thrive. A mixture of 2 parts loam, 1 part compost and 1 part peat comes recommended by the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Use only flowers boxes with drainage holes. To water, dig up a 1-inch deep section of potting mixture and place it in your hand. Add water if it feels dry. Check the potting soil more often during hot weather. Window boxes look most attractive when they extend the full length of the windowsill.