Intense sunlight and warm afternoon temperatures describe the experimental condition any plant in a west - facing window box must hold out every day , no matter of time of year . Large windowpane boxes with more soil provide better growing conditions , and a lightsome - colored finish reduces soil temperatures and wet needs . The estimable tip , however , is to choose plants that can suffer heat and dry soils .
Succulents
A natural choice for a cheery , hot garden positioning , succulent plant produce fleshy leaves that hold moisture , which slenderize the indigence for additional window box watering . Both brave and frost - tender succulent plants survive at the plant nursery ; verify you choose cold-blooded fearless plants if you want the window box to stay green and interesting across the wintertime . Avoid using cacti or agave since they bear spines , but consider using exuberant - search succulent like hen - and - wench ( Sempervivum spp , Echeveria spp . ) en masse or lots of cascading stonecrop ( Sedum spp . ) . Even mother - in - natural law ’s tongue ( Sanseveria spp . ) , especially the midget kind like " Hahnii " or " Twist " , would front attractive and grow nicely in a windowpane boxwood .
Sandy Soil-Loving Plants
Even though your windowpane box soil is not sandy , the fast - draining qualities and realness of the soil warming cursorily mimic the conditions live by plants native to sandlike - soil region . plant aboriginal to the seashore already live harsh conditions – sun , arenaceous soil , tip and even piquant air . Using some of the more attractive plants in a west - face window box thin the want for watering . Or , prime wildflower or perennial native to sandy soil regions , such as Florida or the Caribbean . Dune helianthus ( Helianthus debilis ) , blood-red sage ( Salvia spp . ) , blanketflower ( Gaillardia pulchella ) , Tampa vervain ( Glandularia tampensis ) and tickseed ( Coreopsis spp . ) are a few examples . Purslane and moss rose ( Portulaca spp . ) provide showy flower that give only when the sunlight strike the plants .
Heat-tolerant Plants
Even if you copiously water the window box which receives the intense good afternoon Dominicus , if your plants do not handle heat , they ’ll wither out . Choose yearly that prosper with the reflective warmth and swooning ray without faltering . Mix them for a bouquet - like composition , or mass all one species for an telling floral video display . Florist geraniums and ivy geranium ( Pelargonium spp . ) tolerate heat and slimly drier dirt thanks to their overweight stems and farewell . creep old maid flower ( Zinnia angustifolia and Sanvitalia procumbens ) also work in window boxes . Avoid using geranium and old maid flower if your prospicient , spicy summer is extremely humid . Madagascar periwinkle ( Catharanthus rosea ) , also called vinca , arguably becomes the best one-year choice for red-hot , moist to dry soil . Both mound and cascading varieties exist . Bronze - leaf wax or fibrous begonias ( Begonia spp . ) tolerate heat energy and the intense sun , but if territory becomes too ironical , they tend to seem stunt .
cut back reliance on estrus - loving plants that grow too big for windowpane boxes or arise such an extensive tooth root scheme as to hog all the water from other flora . Sweet potato vine ( Ipomoea batatas ) , lantana ( Lantana camara ) and violet fountain grass ( Pennisetum spp . ) become humongous and take - over the window box by summertime ’s end .
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